The Sea Foam Chronicles
by Shifu18
Summary: The Sea Foam Islands are filled with adventure, mystery, and secrets. Oak, a human turned into a snivy, will sail around the islands trying to find out why he was transformed. Along the way he will meet new friends, rivals and foes. Join Oak and his new friends as they explore the islands and discover the secrets of Oaks transformation.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

"This is what it shall be…the world without a hero. The world will fall into chaos and darkness will consume it. Brother …we must stop this from happening." Said a giant, blue, four legged creature. He looked at the dead landscape that stretched before him.

"Of course a hero chosen by the great one himself shall save the world we created." Replied a gray, two legged creature. He looked up at the sky which was dark and void of any stars.

"If all fails then the world will fall into darkness…he must look to the past…"

"He must fight in the present and he must save the future form this travesty."

"All we can do is hope that he follows the right path…"

The two watched as a pillar of light shot up into the dark sky and then vanished.

"It seems as though they succeeded. Come brother let us see this story unfold."

The two giants vanished leaving the cold, dark barren landscape. The hero of this tale must look to the past for answers, fight the darkness in the present, and save the future from its destruction.

 **The Sea Foam Cornicles**

 **A pokemon fanfiction**

 **By Shifu18**

Author's message: Hey guys this is just a short introduction into what I hope to be an awesome series. I will continue to work on the Topaz project, and work on this story as well. Happy reading and I hope to see you all next time. –Shifu18


	2. Chapter 1: The Stranger

**Chapter 1**

 **The stranger**

A warm summer breeze blew across a small open field. The sky was vast and cloudless and the sun shined brightly upon the field. A young fenekin walked happily along the trail that led into a dark forest. In her maw she carried a small basket which was filled with berries and roots. Out of all the jobs she was required to do this was her least favorite because the forest was inhabited by feral pokemon. They waited patiently for anything to walk by and then they would strike the unexpected pokemon. She whispered a soft prayer before she walked into the forest.

The fenekin continued walking and occasionally picked up a berry to put in her basket. After twenty minutes of walking she finally reached a large clearing. In front of her was giant, old, oak tree. The tree toward above the young fenekin as she approached. Every time she felt sad, or frustrated she came out into the forest to sit by the tree and relax. She placed the basket gently on the ground and walked up towards the tree. She closed her eyes and toke a deep breathe. As soon as her eyes closed images flashed before her eyes showing scenes form her past. A burning village, a giant shape reaching through the flames, citizens running and screaming, and tears.

She quickly opened her eyes and slammed her head against the tree in frustration. Almost every night and every time she closed her eyes she was haunted by the images. She hated them and all she wanted was for them to go away. She gently pressed her head against the trees rough trunk and prayed.

"Please…oh great Arceus…help me get rid of these images…please I need help…" She whispered.

The leaves of the tree rustled in the wind and then went silent. The fenekin toke a few steps back and waited. After a moment of waiting she turned back around and picked up her basket. Before she could leave the sound of branches snapping stopped her in her tracks. She dropped her basket and ran into the brush for cover. A green figure dropped from the branches of the tree and landed onto the ground with a thud.

She approached the figure cautiously hoping that whoever it was wouldn't wake up and attack her. The figure toke in a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. He looked towards the fenekin and blinked with confusion.

"Oh look, a wild Fennekin. What are you doing in my room?" The stranger asked.

"You're…room? This is a forest not your room. Also are you all right…I mean you just fell out of a tree, and you hit the ground pretty hard."

"Wait did…did…you just talk! Fenekins don't talk!" The stranger said as he sat up.

"Of course I can talk all pokemon can talk! You can talk you're a pokemon too!" The fenekin replied as she gave the stranger an odd look.

"I'm a…pokemon?"

"Yes you're a snivy. You don't know what you are? You are a weird pokemon."

"No…no I'm supposed to be a human not a snivy."

The stranger lifted his hands and placed them on his head. He ran his flat hands along his long nose. He looked behind him and found his tail with a three tipped leaf attacked to the end of it. He looked at his hands and feet and noticed that they were flat like leaves.

"HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED!? THIS HAS TOO BE A DREAM…THIS CANT BE REAL…I CANT BE A SNIVY!" The stranger yelled as he ran around.

The fennekin looked at the stranger oddly and let out a small laugh.

"You're a very funny pokemon. By the way my names Fiona. What's your name?" Fiona asked.

"My…my name? I don't have a name...well I had a name, but I don't remember…"

"You don't remember. Ok, well then we are going to have to give you a name…hhmmm how about Oak?"

"Oak? That's an interesting name?"

"Well you did fall from an Oak tree so I thought it would fit."

"Ok…I guess that works." Said Oak.

Fiona smiled and suggested that they travel back to town and try to solve the problem there. Oak followed Fiona out of the clearing and back into the dark forest. They continued walking until they reached a gate way made out of giant logs bound together with thick rope. Standing under the archway stood a very angry snubbull.

"FIONA! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" The snubbull yelled, "YOU WERE SUPPOSE TO BE BACK AT NOON!"

"I know, I know I'm sorry for not coming back on time. I got the barriers and I have to get my friend here to the academy."

The snubbull looked at the snivy and shot him an angry look. He huffed and moved out of the way. The duo continued there walk towards the village.

"Who was that?" Oak asked.

"That's Owen he's one of the guards and he's also the assistant diene at the academy." Fiona said

"He scares me…"

"Oh, Oak don't worry he might act tough but he has a heart of gold."

"IM ALSO NOT DEAF!" Owen yelled as the duo quickly ran towards the town.

Oak looked around at all the stalls and shops that surrounded the towns square. As they walked by pokemon from the stalls called out Fionas name and wished her a happy afternoon. Oak tried his best to hide behind the fox.

"Good after noon!" came a kind female voice.

"Oh, hello Helen." Fiona said as she looked towards the speaker.

"Why who is that hiding behind you?"

"Oh this Oak…he is a bit shy."

"Well Oak it's nice to meet you." Helen said as she tried to make eye contact with Oak.

Oak tried to hide behind Fiona.

"Well I have to get going. It was nice seeing you Helen."

"Take care Fiona."

The duo kept going and Oak continued to take in the sights and smells of the business district. He began to wonder if his old home had a market area like this one. A place filled with friendly people who would stop you just to have a quick conversation. Then again were did he come from? He knew he was human so maybe from an island or a place that had humans living there as well.

"Oak is everything all right?" Fiona asked Oak a concerned look.

Oak quickly realized that while he was deep in thought he had fallen behind Fiona. He smiled and bashfully scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry I was just thinking of how nice this place is."

"This is the best place on the entire island."

"Island?"

"Well you see we live on an island which is part of a whole chain of islands which is part of a whole region of islands. It's kind of hard to explain so maybe I can tell you more about it later alright?"

Oak nodded and the two continued walking. After stopping and talking with some more vendors Oak and Fiona finally made it out of the shopping district. The continued to follow the dirt path until they reached a strange looking tent.

The tent was made out of a heavy, tan canvas. Thick ropes secured the tent down to the earth and giant stakes prevented the ropes from slipping. A large piece of canvas with a strange symbol blocked the entrance to the tent. As Oak and Fiona got closer Oak could make out the carving that was on the canvas. It showed a bird extending its wings outward and above it was a small circle with wings on its sides.

"Well here we are." Fiona announced as the two of them stopped in front of the canvas flap, "Welcome to the academy for the ones bound for adventure."

"What's the bird and the circle thing supposed to symbolize." Oak asked.

"The bird is actually a wingul and it represents the unity of the Seafoam islands and the circle thing is the mark of the explorer. It's a symbol that all adventures respect and honor."

Oak was about to ask another question before he was interrupted by a harsh voice from inside the tent.

"Who is there…if you're a visitor give me the name of who you are to see. If you are a student say the secret password..."

"I am Fiona and I have a guest."

"And…"

"I am an explorer who will value my adventures and I only wish to see the world and help those in need."

"Do you swear to protect those on your team even if it means sacrificing your own life?"

"…yes"

The canvas flap slowly rolled open and the two pokemon entered the tent. Once they were inside the flap rolled back into place behind them.

"Well I'm glad to see you have returned from your errand Fiona." Said the voice from before.

Fiona looked up at the roof of the tent and Oak followed her gaze until his eyes fell upon a strange looking lamp hanging from the roof of tent. The lampent swayed back and forth as he looked down at them with his bright yellow eyes.

"It was easy Brook all I had to do was collect stupid berries. Oh and I found this snivy out in the forest as well."

"How did you find him? Was he unconscious?" Brook asked as he lowered himself down to get a better look at the snivy.

"He well fell out of a tree…"

Brook was silent for a minute.

"You could say he fell like a leaf!" Brook said before he began chuckling at his own joke.

"That's not funny Brook…"

"You could say he had an early autumn! Get it he's a grass type and he uses leafs to attack?"

"Oak lets go…See you later Brook…"

"All right see you guys next fall!" Brook said before he began chuckling uncontrollably, "LEAF JOKE!"

Oak and Fiona ignored the annoying lampent and walked over to the ladder leading down into the lower floors.

The second floor was filled with long hallways that were filled with doors on both sides. Oak was amazed at how they were able to carve out the hallways and the rooms into the solid rock. Fiona walked past all the rooms and stopped at the door at the end of the hallway. She waited patiently for Oak to stop looking at each of the doors.

"Class is in session so no one is going to let you in." Fiona said.

"Oh, I guess I can see what's in there later…" Oak said in disappointment as he picked up his feet and caught up with Fiona.

"Well all the doors are closed except for this one. This is the head masters office." Fiona said as she pushed the door open with her front paws.

Behind the door was a big and orderly room. A mid-sized desk sat in the middle of a giant green rug. Behind the desk was a wall filled with multi colored banners of different shapes and sizes. On one of the far windows a giant window let in the afternoon light and allowed the viewer to view of the ocean.

Oak looked around the room in amazement as he gawked at all the banners that hung on the wall. He was so fixed on the banners that he had completely ignored the pokemon sitting at the desk. The pokemon cleared his throat and Oak quickly turned towards him. His eyes fell upon a very old chatot who was waiting patiently for the snivy to pay attention.

"It seems that your friend is interested in my collection of banners from years past." The chatot said in a very kind, deep voice, "Now then Fiona what do I owe this unexpected visit? You didn't get into trouble did you?"

"No I didn't get into any trouble while out on my errand. I wanted to see if you could help us with something Mr. Benjamin." Fiona replied.

"All right then…what is it?" Benjamin asked as he leaned forward.

Fiona quickly explained how she found Oak in the forest and how he had lost his memory. She also claimed that Oak had told her that he was human.

The chatot scratched his beak and hummed to himself.

"I have seen this before…yes many years ago I meet a human who was in the same situation as your friend. In my opinion I wouldn't tell anyone else that he is human."

"But why?"

"Let's just say that there are people in this world who will do anything to see him dead…for now he shall stay here. Fiona please ask the housing staff to set up a bed for him in your room and…"

"NO I DON'T WANT A BOY IN MY ROOM!" Fiona yelled as she looked at Benjamin with a pleading look.

"We have no were else to put him. The number of students is getting higher each year…Just do it for one night, and I will try to have him moved tomorrow…"

"…Fine…promise?"

"I promise…now then welcome Oak to our academy for the adventure bound. Tomorrow you will begin classes."

"All right…but…I don't want to do school work…"Oak muttered.

"What was that? Speak up boy!" Benjamin said before he glared at Oak and his gaze sent a shiver down his spine.

"Nothing sir!"

After that Benjamin shooed the two out and Oak followed Fiona as she walked towards the ladders and headed down to the dormitory level.

That night Oak couldn't sleep. He just laid there on his pile of hay thinking about how this all could have happened. He lifted his flat, green hand and stared at it. What ever happened he had a way to fix it. He couldn't stay like this forever, he had to go home at some point.

"Oak…are you still awake?" Fiona asked.

Oak didn't respond and laid there motionless.

"Well if you aren't that's fine…I just can't sleep…because I'm afraid."

Oak remained silent.

"Whenever I close my eyes I see images that frighten me, and whenever I try to sleep I see them…It's been a year since it happened, but the images and the events keep coming back. It's like a never ending nightmare."

" _Fiona…"_

"If are awake Oak thank you for listening to me. Maybe someday you can help me get rid of them…"

Oak waited patiently for Fiona to continue, but after a few moments he realized that she had fallen asleep.

Oak felt his eyes began to close and before he drifted off to sleep he whispered a prayer.

"Oh, great Arcues who lives above please help my friend…give me strength so I can help her get rid of her endless nightmare…"

Oak laid there in silence until sleep toke hold of him and dragged him off to the world of slumber.


	3. Chapter 2: Oaks Promise

**Chapter 2**

 **Oaks Promise**

It had been four days since Oaks arrival, and he was enjoying his time at the academy. Everyday Oak would wake up and take classes based on being part of an exploration team. The other students on the other hand didn't seem to feel the same way. Some of them would even fall asleep during the professor's lecture. After each class he would follow Fiona to the next class.

"So where are we going next Fiona?" Oak asked excitedly as they walked through the crowded halls.

"You ask me that everyday…we are going to island geography…the one class I hate…"

"I enjoy learning about all the islands."

Fiona just shook her head and the two continued walking until they reached the room. Before they walked in a Student from the other side of the hall called out to Fiona.

"Hey Fiona did you cry last night or did you boyfriend sir leaf butt save you!"

Fiona ignored them and walked into the room. Oak on the other had shot them a venomous glare at the bullies before he followed Fiona into the room.

Just off the coast of the island a somewhat large boat was making its way towards the port which lies just two miles away form were Oak and Fiona are. A giant black bird gazed at the small island in front of him. It had been awhile since he had been to the small island and everything still looked the same.

"Boss the crew says we should be there in just a few minutes." A voice called from below deck.

"Good hehehehe" The big bird responded in a deep gravelly voice, "Now once we reach the island I don't want any of you knuckle heads to screw this up, got it?"

"Don't worry boss we won't screw this up."

"Good hehehehe raise the flag…let the island know we are coming..."

"On it boss. HEY THE BOSS SAYS RAISE THE FLAG!"

The crew began running around the deck getting the ship ready for docking. They raised a black flag which displayed a crow's skull with a golden coin in one of its eyes. The giant bird raised his wing into the air and pointed it towards the island.

"Full speed ahead! Got it!" He yelled.

"Aye Aye Boss!" The crew responded.

Oak calmly followed Fiona as they walked through the market. The first time he had walked through the market he tried to hide himself from everyone, but now he felt comfortable with people looking at him and saying hello.

Fiona on the other hand was getting tired of Oak following her were ever she went. She didn't mind his company it was just annoying that he trailed behind her like a second shadow. The other Pokémon at the academy began making fun of her calling Oak her pet, or referring to Oak as her future mate. It was just another layer of mean jokes. It was annoying and Fiona wanted it to stop.

"Hey Fiona you two should kiss, Oh wait you might burn him with your hot smelly breath!" Called one of her classmates from across the square.

The other students laughed at his stupid joke as they walked past the duo. Fiona shook her head and kept walking. Oak glared at the students as they walked by. He lowered his tail and the bully walked right into it. The bully fell face first into the gravel path and Oak simple raised his tail and kept walking.

"Hey leaf butt! Apologize for tripping me!" The bully demanded as he got back up.

"Why should I apologize to you? You didn't apologize to my friend for the mean jokes you've been saying the past couple of days." Oak responded.

"Your friend? Ha don't make me laugh! Fiona the fur ball who screams at night because of some little nightmare. No one wants to be friends with a wimpy bed wetter! In my opinion you should…"

Oak slammed his fist into the students face sending him flying across the market. The other students looked at Oak in shock before they turned and ran. Oak turned towards Fiona and gave her a warm smile.

"Listen Oak...thanks, but I don't need a body guard…" Fiona muttered as she looked down at the ground.

"Body guard, Fiona I'm your friend. We need to stick together." Oak said cheerfully.

"No…It's just…I mean thanks for standing up for me, but again I don't need a body guard…"

"But Fiona I'm not a body guard I'm…"

"No you can't be my friend! I don't need a friend…I just need time alone…"

"Fiona…"

"Look just go away…Ok? Just stop following me and go find someone else to be your friend…Maybe they can be more helpful to you..." Fiona said as she turned away from Oak.

Oak was silent for a few moments before he slowly turned around and began walking away.

Fiona looked over her shoulder and sadly watched as Oak walked away from her. She felt horrible for saying those things to him. She actually felt happy when he called her his friend, but Fiona didn't want to drag anyone into her problems. She walked over to the fountain that sat in the middle of the square and sat down at its base.

"Why hello Fiona. Why do you looked so troubled on a nice day like today?"

Fiona looked towards the speaker and found Mr. William walking towards her. The old bird smiled as he approached.

"Oh, hi Mr. William it's nothing I'm fine."

"Mmmmm you know Fiona it isn't a good idea to hide your emotions. So why don't you tell me why you look so sad?"

"Well just a couple of minutes ago Oak punched a student in the face for teasing me. Then he called me his friend…I told him to go away because I don't want to drag him into my problems'…"

"And what at are your "problems"?"

"Well the nightmares from that day that haunt me…I don't want him to worry about me and I don't want him to try to find a way to fix it. That's something I need to do my own"

"But these visions ae haunting you why wouldn't you want him to help you?"

"Because…I'm afraid …he either will stress over wanting to save me…or he will leave me and not want to be my friend. I don't want him to turn into everyone else in the academy."

"I don't think Oak will make fun of you. In fact after hearing what he did I believe he wants to protect you. He sees you as a friend who is being bullied by others because of something you do. I would open up to Oak and allow him to help you with your nightmares."

"You really think so?"

"I'm positive now lest go find our green friend and see if he's all right. Hopefully he's gone back to the academy and…"

"PIRATES, PIRATES HAVE DOCKED AT THE HARBOR AND ARE COMING TO OUR VILLAGE!"

The entire market area erupted into chaos. Shop keepers quickly gathered their wares and stashed them deep within their stalls. Town's people began running towards their homes. Within seconds the busy market district became quiet and desolate.

Fiona and William ran through the desolate streets trying to get back to the academy. They had to stop a few times to allow William to catch his breathe.

"Fiona…please…let this old bird heave a break…"

"Sorry Mr. William, but we have to hurry or…"

Fiona was silenced a strange clicking sound that was growing louder. A line of black birds began walking towards them. Each one of the birds were clicking their talons together. Behind the line of birds stood a larger black bird with a clump of white feathers underneath his head. On top of his head was a group of feathers that were arranged to look like a big flat brimmed hat.

The honchkrow looked down at Fiona and William with a bored look. He raised his wing into the air and cleared his throat.

"Hey boys quiet down…" He ordered sternly.

"Yeah sure boss…no prod…"The murkcrows responded.

The honchkrow returned his attention to the two pokemon standing before him.

"Well this must be the welcoming committee. I assume that you have a place for me the great Black Wing to sleep?"

"No…no we don't let pirates sleep on our island." William responded.

"Hehehe cocky old bastard. Be careful what you say or I might make you the example to the rest of the village to those who talk to me that way. Got it?"

"He you're not even threat HAPPY classified you as level C threat meaning even a novice team could…"

William was interrupted by a strong gust of wind that almost knocked him off his feet. He braced himself against Fiona and glared at the giant bird. Fiona only looked on in fear. She had never seen a real life pirate before. The more well-known pirates tended to hang out in the southern region of the islands. They never came to the central islands because it was home to HAPPYS main headquarters, and stationed there were some of the strongest exploration teams in the entire Sea Foam islands.

"Fiona." William whispered, "You need to get out of here now! Even though he might be a level C threat is still somewhat of a challenge."

"I can't leave you alone Mr. William he might…he might…"

"Don't worry about me, back in my day I toke down pokemon tougher then this want a be pirate. I will distract him you just need to run…and don't look back…"

Fiona held back her tears as she pressed her face into the chatots feathers.

"If I don't see you again…thank you for everything…" Fiona whispered before she turned and began running back towards the market.

William watched as Fiona disappeared into the market. Once she was gone he turned back towards the pirates.

"Now then…let's get this over with. After all I have an academy to run."

Fiona kept running until she finally had to stop and rest. She made it all the way back to the fountain in the center of the market. She turned around to make sure she was safe before she collapsed onto the ground. As she laid there she began to wonder if Mr. William would be all right fighting them alone. She wanted to go back and help, but her body refused to get up. All she could do was lay there and think about how bad her day had turned out to be.

"Thank Arceus I lost them." She muttered.

A big, black shadow passer over her. Fiona looked up at the sky and noticed a giant bird circling above her.

"Shit…that means…no…" Fiona whimpered as Black Wing began descending towards her.

"Well look who I found trying to hide from me." Black Wing joked, "Now I have to say little lady you ran pretty fast, but not fast enough."

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO WILLIAM?" Fiona yelled as she slowly got to her feet.

"Oh that old bastard. I ordered my flock to take care of him. I slipped away to chase after you because I think you might be of some use to us."

"What do you mean?"

"You see I'm on a mission right now to hunt down a specific person. I and thirteen others were instructed to find him some were her in the central island belt. You and the old coot were the only pokemon so I wanted to use you as hostages to see if that would get him or her out." Black Wing explained as he began walking towards Fiona.

Fiona backed away from Black Wing until her tail hit the side of the fountain. The honchkrow smiled as he wrapped his wing around her tail and hoisted her into the air. Fiona screamed at the bird to let her down, but Black Wing only laughed.

Fiona only had one option and that was to fight and escape from this pirate. She turned her head towards the cocky bird and spewed a cloud of black smoke. Black Wing let go of her tail as he desperately tried to get rid of the cloud. Fiona quickly turned back towards Black Wing and unleashed a small ball of fire. The ball slammed into the honchkrow's chest causing him to blindly stumble back a few steps

Fiona decided that this was the perfect time to escape. She quickly turned back around and began running towards the eastern sector of the market.

"YOU LITTLE TWERP YOULL PAY FOR THAT!" Black Wing yelled as he cleared away the last of Fiona's smoke screen.

He flapped his wings and began to ascend into the sky. He raised both of his giant black wings and in one fluid movement he brought them together creating a blade of air. Fiona just had enough time to move out of the way before the blade of air sliced the bush next to her in half. Black Wing unleashed another one and again Fiona dodged.

Black Wing unleashed another attack and this time the impact caused Fiona to lose her footing. She rolled across the dirt path before coming to a stop in front of stall. She watched in terror as Black Wing prepared for another attack.

Time seemed to slow down as Fiona watched as the honckrow's giant wings came together and created another giant wind blade. Fiona saw all the images from her past flash before her eyes. Her life before the fire, the horrifying tragedy, washing ashore Lapris Island, joining the academy, and finally meeting Oak. Oak, the one person who called her his friend. A friend that all she really wanted. Someone who would listen to her, smile, laugh, and help her.

" _Oak if you're out there…I'm sorry I do want to be your friend…please come back…please let me be your friend…that's all I want…"_ Fiona thought to herself as she slowly closed her eyes and waited for the pain.

Everything was silent as Fiona began to realize that she was ok.

"Fiona…are you all right…" asked a familiar voice.

Fiona slowly opened her eyes and was horrified by what she saw. Standing in front of her was Oak. He had taken the attack for her and was now in pain. Blood dripped from a big cut that had formed across his chest.

"Oak…are you all right…"

"Heh its going…to take more…then a stupid…gust to knock me down…but…now I want to know if…you're ok…?" Oak said as he painfully turned towards Fiona and gave her a smile.

"Oak..."

"There is…. something I wanted to ask you …Fiona. I heard you that night…when you told me about…your nightmares…"

"Yes…"

"I decided I wanted to make you a promise Fiona…I want to make all your nightmares go away. I want… to be your friend who will help make…all of them go away..."

"Oak please don't…I don't want you to make it your burden. I have to carry it…I don't want you to worry about it!"

"Then let's carry it together… Like I said one day I'm going to make all of your nightmares disappear. That's my promise to you Fiona…my friend…"

Fiona pressed her nose up against Oaks back and tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.

"Thank you Oak…thank you…"

Oak turned his attention to Black Wing. He shot the honchkrow a venomous glare before he slowly and painfully began walking towards the bird. Black Wing watch unamused by Oaks act of shivery. He raised his wing up into the air and sliced the air in front of him. Oak, with surprising speed, dodged the attack and continued advancing towards the bird. Black Wing sliced the air again and again Oak dodged it.

As Oak got closed to Black Wing two vines stretched out of his collar and wrapped themselves around the birds wing. Black Wing let out a squawk of surprise as he tried to free himself from the vines.

"I take it you're a night mare…listen carefully bird brain. I won't let you lay a finger on my friend…not as long as I'm still standing." Oak said as he tightened his vines causing Black wing to let out a small cry of pain.

As Oak began to get closer Black Wing swore he could see a faint purple aura radiating from the snivy. He also noticed that the snivy's eyes had changed from the familiar red to a deep violet. The vines that were curled around his wing began to grow thorns.

"Your…you're the one I'm looking for…you have to be…no other pokemon can do what you're doing right now…" Black Wings squawked as he desperately tried to free himself.

Oak didn't respond and the purple aura around him slowly began to grow in size. More thorn covered vines grew from his collar and began wrapping around the honchkrow's body. Black Wing watched in fear as the snivy slowly lifted him from the ground and into the air.

"JUST WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!"

"I…I don't know…No…I am Oak the human who will learn the truth."

Oak commanded his vines to send the bird crashing into the ground. His vines unwrapped themselves and retreated back into his collar. Black Wing slowly got back onto his feet. Oak launched himself right at the bird and slammed his head right into the honchkrow's chest. The impact sent the pirate soaring across the market and into a stand.

The purple aura around Oak began to thicken as he began moving towards the unconscious Black Wing.

"Oak…I think he's had enough…" Fiona said as she looked at Oak.

Oak didn't respond and kept walking. His thorn covered vines began to wrap themselves around the bird again.

"Oak please stop your scaring me…please stop..."

This time Oak stopped and turned towards Fiona. His violet eyes showed no emotion, but Fiona knew that Oak was in there and he was listening.

"Whatever you're doing is taking this to far…please stop Oak this isn't you…"

"Fiona…I…I" Muttered Oak as his eyes began to return to normal and the purple aura around him began to vanish. His vines quickly retracted themselves back into his collar.

Once Oak had returned to normal he stumbled around for a few moments before he regained his balance.

"Fiona…what happened?" Oak asked as he looked at the fenekin.

"Wait…you don't remember how you did that?" Fiona asked as she cautiously walked towards her friend.

"No I remember making you that promise…then I remember feeling this rush of power. Then…well I don't know…"

"Well all that matters is that you're no longer in that strange state."

"Yeah I guess that is a good thing...Thanks Fiona."

"For what?"

"For letting me be your friend, and for helping me get out of that strange state."

"That's what friends are for Oak." Fiona said giving Oak a big smile.

Moment later William, Brook, and Owen spotted the duo walking out of the market. Oak was leaning against Fiona and Oak was using his right hand to cover a cut that Black Wings attack had created.

"Owen go get the nurse these two need medical attention!" Brook yelled as he floated towards them.

William examined the pair and shook his head.

"I take it that you had to fight him. Well all that matters is that you're both alive." William said.

"William do you see this cut on his chest!" Brook yelled, "I'm surprised he's even alive after a hit like that!"

"Brook again all that matters is that these two are alive. The wound will heal over time. By the way what became of Black Wing?"

Before Fiona could answer Owen returned with the academy nurse. The nurse quickly ran over towards the two students and quickly checked Fiona for any injuries. Then she moved onto Oak and noticed the cut across his chest. She shook her head and gently picked him up. With Oak safely in her arms she turned and began running back to the academy to treat Oaks wound.

Fiona only stood there and watched as the nurse carried Oak away. Only four days ago she had found him lost and without nay memory of who he was. Now today he had protected her from a bully and a crazy pirate.

" _I want to promise you Fiona…I want to help you get rid of your nightmares! That's what friends do Fiona!"_ Oaks words echoed in Fiona's head.

Friend…a friend who would help her. Not a teacher, a shop vendor or a crazy lampent who told bad jokes. A pokemon who declared to her that he would protect her no matter what was in front of them. A friend…a friend who didn't care who she was or what she did.

"Fiona are you alight?" Brook asked, "Why are you crying?"

"Oh, was I…I didn't mean to…I was just…"

"He's going to be fine Fiona…the nurse will take care of him." William said as he gently placed his wing on her back.

"I just…I just want my friend to be ok…I want my friend to be alright…" Fiona murmured as tears began to flow down her face.


	4. Chapter 3: A New Beginning

**Chapter 3**

 **A New Beginning**

Fiona couldn't sleep that night all she could think about was Oak. The nurse didn't allow her to see him and claimed that if she saw him it might cause him to get excited which could reopen his wound.She shook her head, got up, and walked towards her door. The hallway was dark and silent save for the sound of a few snoring students. Fiona quietly stepped out of her room and slowly closed her door.

"Going some were, Fiona?" Brook asked as he fazed through the wall causing Fiona to jump back in surprise.

"No, and please don't do that Brook."

"Well it is my job to make sure everyone is in bed. You do know what I do to students who are not in their rooms?"

"What?"

"I EAT THEIR SOULS!" Brook whispered in a raspy voice that sent a chill down Fiona's spine.

"That's…. That's not funny Brook…"

"Well for you it wasn't…but I enjoyed watching your reaction. Now go back to bed…BEFORE I REALLY EAT YOUR SOUL!"

Fiona quickly scurried back into her room and closed the door behind her. She jumped onto her pile of hay and closed her eyes.

Morning soon came and rays of sunlight filtered through Fiona's window. She slowly opened her eyes and yawned.

"Fiona are you awake yet?" Brook's voice called from the other side of the door, "The headmaster would like to speak to you as soon as possible."

"Yeah I'm awake…just give me a few minutes…" Fiona said before she fell back asleep.

"GET UP!"

"All right I'm up…just give me a minute."

Fiona slowly got out of bed and lazily walked to the door to greet the annoyed lampent. She followed Brook down the hallway until they finally reached the headmasters office on the second floor. Brook pushed open the oak door and they walked inside. William was at his desk reading a report and Owen stood next to him with his arms behind his back.

"Sir!" Owen barked, "They are here!"

"I can see that Owen no need to inform me." William said as he looked up from his report and looked at Fiona, "Now onto why I asked you to come here this morning. This meeting has to do with the events that toke place yesterday."

"Alright."

"From what we have gathered and from what you told us yesterday about Oaks strange behavior, and the fact that Black Wing came here to our peaceful island have led us to a conclusion. We concluded that it is too dangerous to allow Oak to stay here on Lapris Island."

"But…but were will he go? Oak doesn't have anyone in this world to help him. I'm his only friend that…"

"Shut up and let the headmaster finish!" Owen barked.

"Thank you Owen. That brings us to our next decision. It pains me to say this, but Fiona we think it might be best of you went with Oak."

"Leave…but…but where will we go…"

"We already planned that. Fiona on behalf of the entire academy I would like to congratulate you on your early graduation!"

Fiona blinked confusion at what William just said.

"Early Graduation?"

"Yes, Fiona you have been at this academy now for a year and a half. You've grown so much since that day we found you unconscious on a boat on the shore. We think you are ready to take on the world as an explorer"

"What about Oak? He's only been here for five days and is he graduating too?"

"Of course he's graduating he's just going to have to learn everything through field experience." Brook said as he pulled out a small popper and pulled the string releasing a ball of confetti.

"Now you and Oak will be leaving tomorrow for the harbor. Make sure you pack things you will need for your journey. The academy will ship anything that you leave behind." Owen said as he watched the confetti fall onto the floor, "Now get a move on!"

"Before I go I have one question. What happened to Black Wing?"

"We went to the plaza yesterday and found no sign of him." Owen said, "He is still out there sailing in these waters. Rest assured Fiona we are doing everything in our power to make sure he does not land here again. Now…GET PACKING!"

Fiona bowed her head in thanks and quickly ran out of the room, down the ladder and into her room to start packing her things.

Oak didn't like being stuck in the infirmary. It was boring and it smelled funny and the nurse scared him. Every time he tried to move a part of his body the nurse would glare at him and remind him that if he moved his wound would reopen. Despite this Oak raised his hand and looked at it.

" _I wonder how I was able to summon that strange power Fiona talked about."_ Oak thought to himself as he continued to look at his flat green hand _, "Well what ever happened hopefully next time I won't go berserk or maybe I could…"_

"And what exactly do you think you're doing young man!? I already told you that you can't move or you might reopen your wound!" The nurse hissed as she glared at Oak.

"Sorry mam I won't move…"

"That's what they all say…by the way Oak I have to congratulate you on your early graduation."

"Early graduation, what does that mean?"

"The head master sent out a newsletter this morning about how you and Fiona will be graduating from the academy early. You both will be joining a guild and use your experience in the field to cover the rest of your academy training."

"I guess that is kind of cool…so what will happen next?" Oak asked.

"Well right now the entire town is celebrating the news of Fiona graduating." The chansey replied as she glanced back over at Oak to make sure he was staying still.

"Wait their throwing a party!"

"Of course their throwing a party for her. Fiona's had a tough time on the island the only friends she had since she's gotten here have been the merchants and some of the academy staff. Now I am going to go and get some more supplies you stay here and don't move!"

Oak only nodded and the nurse left room closing the door softly behind her. Oak just stared at the ceiling and began to think about the party. Everyone was having fun, dancing, playing games, and more importantly eating food. Just thinking about all the food that might be at the party caused Oaks stomach to let out a loud growl. All he had eaten today was a bowl of dry oatmeal which tasted like wood shavings.

"Hehe sorry buddy if the doctor catches me outside I might get in trouble." Oak laughed as he patted his stomach.

His stomach replied with another loud growl.

Fiona walked through the academy's empty hallways towards the nurse's office. In her mouth she carried a small basket which carried various pieces of food from the party. As she walked down the hall she began to wonder were she and Oak would go. Now that they were graduates they could sail to any of the guilds that accepted novice explorers. The world was their oyster and she wanted to see everything that it had to offer.

Fiona finally reached the door that lead into the nurse's office. She gently placed the basket on the ground and pushed the door open with her nose.

"Oak are you awake?" Fiona asked as she poked her head into the room, "I mean if you're asleep I can come back later."

"No…Fiona please come in." Oak said desperately. He really wanted someone to talk too even though the nurse had only left five minuets ago.

He watched as Fiona entered the room and jumped up onto Oaks bed. She gently placed the basket down next to him and smiled.

"I thought you must be starving so I brought you some food from the party. Careful though some of them are a bit…"

"GGAAHH FIONA BRING ME SOME WATER MY MOUTH IS ON FIRE!"

"You pig I didn't even finish what I was about to say! I was going to warn you that some of the food is spicy."

"Sorry Fiona it's just that the nurse only gave me stale oatmeal for breakfast…so this is the only real food I have eaten all day…"

Fiona only laughed as she watched Oak shovel food into his mouth. She started to tell him all about the party. She told him about how all the merchants in the town had made a bunch of food just for her. Fiona was so focused on telling Oak about the party that she didn't realize something. She didn't realize that she was actually happy. For a year and a half the only friends she had were some of the staff at the academy and some of the merchants in the town square. For the first time in a long time she actually had a friend who was listening to her.

"Oh, I also wanted to ask you something Oak."

"Yeah go ahead Fiona." Oak said as he shoved more food into his mouth.

"Well I wanted to ask you if you wanted to form an exploration team with me."

"An exploration team?"

"The whole purpose of this academy is to train pokemon so that one day they might form their own exploration teams. Once we graduate we can chose from a list of guilds that accept rookies. From there we explore the ocean looking for new lands, treasure, and solving ancient puzzles. Also as a team we can rescue pokemon who are in need. Just thinking about all the things we can do makes me excited!"

"Alright I'm in, this sounds awesome and maybe we can find out why I transformed into a snivy!"

"Just think of all the cool places we can see, and all the cool food we can eat, and all the cool people we can meet and…"

The two friends began talking about all the things they wanted to do and all the places they wanted to visit. They were so wrapped up in their daydreams that they didn't notice that William had walked into the infirmary. The old chatot only stood in the doorway and smiled as he listened to them ramble on about their future plans.

" _To them the world is a giant place filled with adventure and mystery. I remember that feeling of wondering what could be out there in the vast ocean just waiting to be seen. I hope that they can see what this world has to offer, and what it has to teach them. Fiona I hope that you and Oak have many fantastic adventures."_ William thought to himself.

William turned back around and closed the door softly behind him. As he walked back to his office he began humming a soft tune that he and his guild members use to sing every morning.

For the rest of day the small town celebrated. The merchants, who had gotten to know Fiona very well, congratulated her on her graduation. Many of them remembered the days when she would run into the town square sobbing because the other students at the academy were making fun of her. Now when they looked at her they saw joy and happiness. It was if meeting Oak had helped her deal with all the nightmares that she would talk about.

Night quickly feel upon the village and the party began to dwindle down until the town square had become quiet and void of life. Fiona on the other hand was using this opportunity to take a walk through the market. This would be the last time she would be able to walk along the familiar dirt road past all of the stalls of the merchants she had come to call her friends.

Fiona looked up at the night sky which was filled with stars and just seeing them made her remember something. She remembered the time when she was out at sea with nothing but a raft and hope. After three days at sea she had finally given up hope, but somehow seeing the beauty of the night sky had reminded her that the world was still filled with beautiful things that made life worth living. It was also on that night that her raft washed up onto Lapris Island, and the next day Brook found her and took her in.

"Oh great Arceus thank you for giving me hope. Thank you for sending me someone who I can truly call my friend. I know that one day we will become the greatest team to ever sail the waters." Fiona whispered as she continued to look up at the sky, "Oh, and please help me one day find my parents… I want to tell them everything…Thank you great creator."

She sat there for a couple more moments gazing at the stars before she decided it was time to return to the academy, and get ready for tomorrow.

A light fog covered the island and the rising sun casted a bright orange glow across the ground. Oak and Fiona stood outside of the towns front gate ready to head off on their adventure. William, Owen, a few of the town's merchants, and a few of the students from the academy came to see them off.

"Oak and Fiona today you take the first step of many. Today you shall set off for the open sea in search of new adventures as true exploders. Before you two depart I would like to bestow upon you the colors of our academy." William said as he and Owen approached the duo.

In Owen's arms was a small wooden chest lined with copper. William opened the chest and pulled out two blue scarves.

"Let these be a reminder of where you came from. Remember your time here at our academy. Take these scarves as a gift from all of us." William said as he walked towards the two and began tying the scarves around their necks.

The old chatot stepped back and admired the two students before him. Oak gently ran has hand across the scarf. It was soft and touching it filled Oak with pride.

"Now before you go we have one more thing to tell you. Since you graduated early you will be gaining most of your knowledge form the field. So we decided that it would be a good idea to have someone supervise you to make sure you are on the right path." William said, "Brook are you ready to go?"

"Yes William." Brook said as he slowly rose from the ground, "Sorry I'm late I had to pack a few more things before we leave."

"Does he have to come with us? I mean I like Brook, but I…" Fiona muttered before Brook placed his metal hand on her mouth.

"What do you want me to give you my resume? Just because you graduated early doesn't mean you're ready for the real world. Also it's a rule that students who graduate early must be supervised by a pokemon with experience. That way you get all of your training done correctly."

Fiona only grumbled in protest, but Oak was actually kind of happy to have the lampent join them. It would be interesting to learn more about the world of exploration teams and maybe Brook could even help Oak with his strange power.

"Now then let's get going you two we're burning daylight. Heheh fire pun."

"Brook just please no lame puns, jokes, or comments…" Fiona grumbled as she and Oak turned to follow Brook down the dirt path.

"I'm fired up and ready to go! Really Fiona I'm just warming up!"

The town's people yelled their good byes and waved farewell to the trio and watched as they slowly began to descend down the hill.

"Do you think they're going to be all right?" Owen asked, "I mean Brook is a powerful pokemon, but can they handle his sense of humor?"

"I have complete faith that Brook will train them well. His humor will be a challenge though."

Once the trio had vanished from sight the villagers and academy students began to head back towards the village. William and Owen remained as they watched the sun light up the sky.

"A whole world is waiting for those two. It's just waiting be explored." William said before he turned and began walking back towards the academy, "Where they go is up to them."

Owen remained and continued to look towards the horizon.

"May Arceus bless your voyage young Fiona…Today you leave to concur your fears, and you're not alone you have Oak to help you." Owen grumbled as a small, rare smile began to form on his face.

The trio continued to follow the path for a couple of miles before they stopped for a small break. As the three pokemon rested they looked out towards the cliff side. Oak could hear the sounds of the waves gently hitting the rocks below. Before him stretched the majestic ocean that stretched all the way into the horizon. For some reason when Oak looked out to the sea he felt excited. He wanted to get on the first boat he saw and sail out into the vast blue.

" _Someday I will see what lies beyond that horizon…maybe someday we could sail around the entire world…maybe some were out there we can find out what happened to me…"_ Oak thought to himself as he images began to swim around in his head.

He imagined himself commanding a great galleon filled with treasure and friends. Outlaws and pirates ran from them knowing that they would be captured by the great captain Oak and his first mate Fiona.

"Hey Oak we need to keep moving! We're almost to the port town." Brook yelled as he placed his bag onto his shoulders.

Oak shook himself out of his dream and quickly ran back towards his companions. Once they were ready they continued walking down the dirt trail. A mile passed and the group soon came upon a wooden archway similar to the one that lead into the village.

Past the gate Oak noticed a few small white buildings with red tiled roofs over the horizon. Filled with excitement the trio dashed towards the settlement and found themselves on top of a gradual hill. Below them more houses lined the cobble paths that weaved throughout the maze of white buildings. Just beyond the sea of red tiled roofs Oak and Fiona could see the ocean and the mast of small fishing vessels.

Pokémon of all shapes, colors, and sizes crowded the streets. Some carried fishing nest or fishing poles and some carried large crates or barrels marked with strange symbols. The trio weaved their way through the crowded streets and through the market which was filled with strange berries, orbs, and trinkets that seemed to mesmerize Oak with curiosity. Brook would occasionally lay his metal hand on Oaks shoulder pulling him back into reality.

They continued walking until they came upon a building that stood out from the rest. It was much larger than some of the other buildings, and a giant, wooden sign hung above the door. Brook placed his hand on the thick, oak door and pushed it open. Once inside Brook, Oak, Fiona walked towards a large wooden desk that sat in the back of the building.

An octillery sat at the desk and watched as the trio approached him. He lazily raised his tentacle in greeting before he let out a sigh of boredom.

"Welcome the Lapris inn the best inn in the port town on Lapris Island. Will you be staying with us tonight?" the octillery asked in a lethargic tone.

"Yes, we will need a room for tonight and possible tomorrow night." Brook said.

"Alright it will be 100 gold pieces for two nights, or if you have an explorers badge you can get a room half price"

"Of course." Brook said as he dug through his bag and pulled out a small circular badge, "Here we are."

The octilliary lazily picked up the badge with his tentacle and looked over it. The octillary's eyes shrank in size when he read the name of the badges owner.

"My…my apologies Sir…I mean Mr. Brook…I mean…"

"Just call me Brook…please…I don't need you to attract attention. All I want is a room."

"Right away oh great Brook!" The octillery yelled before he clambered out from behind the desk and up the stairs.

Oak and Fiona looked at Brook with a questionable gaze.

"What…I'm not some sort of celebrity…" Brook said as tried his best to ignore their gaze, "I'm just a lamp…a handsome lamp…a powerful handsome lamp."

Night quickly feel upon the small port town and a full moon cast a glow upon the earth. Oak was leaning against the window sill looking down upon the red roofed buildings and merchant stalls. The streets had fallen silent and empty except for a few pokemon who were using this opportunity to enjoy a quiet walk. As Oak watched he began to wonder if sailing out onto the open sea might even help him. He had to figure out why he had been turned into a snivy and he need to learn more about his mysterious power.

"Can't sleep can you?" Brook asked as he floated towards Oak.

"I thought you went to sleep?"

"Ghost types don't need to sleep. To us it's just an option we don't get tired if we don't rest. But you need to get some shut eye or you won't have any energy tomorrow."

"It's just that we are about to leave this island and begin sailing around the world. I just don't know what's going to be out there, and I still need answers as to why I'm like this."

"You know I have a feeling that maybe you will find something out there. It takes time for things to fit into place. So be patient and everything will be fine…"

"Alright then…" Oak said before he yawned.

"Now get some sleep we have a lot of work tomorrow."

Oak nodded and lazily dragged himself to an empty pile of hay. He flopped down onto the pile and feel asleep. His dreams were filled with exciting adventures on the sea. Treasure, friends, and mysteries awaited Oak and his fearless crew. To Oak the world was waiting to be explored and he and Fiona would see it all.


	5. Chapter 4: Makit and the Waterstone

**Chapter 4**

 **Makit and the Water Stone**

Oak slowly lifted his head up from the pile of hay and began to rub the sleep from his eyes. He looked around the room and noticed that Fiona and Brook were gone. Oak slowly rose off of his pile of hay and walked towards the window. He pushed open the wooden shutters and allowed the morning sun to shine into the room. The morning sun was felt warm against his skin and the sky was a vast blue with no sign of clouds. Below Oak could hear the sounds and voices of vendors and shoppers in the market below.

Oak just smiled and then turned his attention back to the room. He quickly reformed his bed and picked up any pieces that had fallen off during the night. Once that was done he looked towards the door and noticed a piece of paper hanging from a nail. He reached up, grabbed the note, and began reading.

Dear Oak

Fiona and I have gone out to gather supplies and will try to get a sea chart. There is some food and some money on the table next to my bed. Spend the money wisely and try to be back here before it gets dark.

Oh, and please try not to climb or fall from any trees. Be smart and be safe.

Brook

Once he finished reading he ran over to desk and picked up the berries and money mentioned in the letter. He quickly scurried down the hall and down the stairs. He pushed open the inn's door and stepped out into the bustling business district. Like the day before the market was filled with pokemon of different sizes and colors. The stalls were filled with strange berries and items that peeked Oaks curiosity. He briskly walked towards a stall that seemed to be selling a collection of colored orbs.

" _I wonder what all these things do."_ Oak thought to himself as he looked at his reflection in a strange yellow orb.

"You find something of interest, young man?" The shop keeper asked.

"What is this thing?"

"That is a totter orb. It will cause pokemon who look into it to become confused. But use it wisely you only get one chance after it's activated the orb will crack and crumble to pieces. Are you interested in buying it?"

"How much is it mister?"

"It's going to be 120 gold pieces."

Oak quickly counted the money Brook left him and gave the shop keeper the exact amount. With his new possession in hand Oak quickly ran towards the next stall and began looking at all the cool items. After scanning the stall he quickly ran towards the next one. After that he ran to the next one and bought a strange looking berry that the show owner proclaimed to help heal burns. Oak was so transfixed on running to the next stall that he didn't notice the pokemon in front of him. He slammed right into the pokemon causing him to topple over.

Oak quickly got to his feet and ran over to help the pokemon he had just ran into. The pokemon was a light cream color and he had a very round body. His head was a bit smaller than his torso and it seemed to have what looked like a knot on top of his head. His hands were covered by what Oak presumed to be gloves.

"I'm so sorry sir I didn't mean to run into to you." Oak said as he began to push against the pokémon's back.

"Its fine just next time watch were you're going." The pokemon said with a somewhat deep voice as he slowly got to his feet.

The pokemon was just a few inches taller than him and the pokemon's eyes also appeared to be closed. Which made Oak wonder how he could see if they were always closed.

The pokemon dusted himself off before he began to walk away from Oak. Oak just shrugged and was about to continue stall jumping he noticed something on the ground where the pokemon had fallen. Oak bent down and picked it up and held it up to get a better look at it. It was a small round piece of metal that hung from a small piece of thin rope.

Oak franticly looked around the busy market to see if he could find the pokemon, but he could see no sign of him. Oak placed the necklace around his neck and continued looking. He hopped that we would eventually run into the pokemon again. An hour passed and Oak had still not seen the pokemon and he was starting to run low on money. Oak walked back to the inn with his new treasures wondering if he would ever find the necklaces rightful owner before they left.

"Ah there he is." Brook exclaimed as Oak pushed open the door, "Well we found a merchant who is willing to sell us a good portion of rations, and we were able to find a small sea chart."

"Yeah Oak check it out!" Fiona said as she pulled the map out from Brooks's bag, "It's got all the surrounding islands and it even shows us the central continent."

The map itself wasn't anything special it was an old piece of paper with a few lumpy blobs that resembled the islands. One of the islands had a black circle around it and a black line stretched from it to the large land mass that was positioned just south east of the circled island.

"I decided that the guild on the central continent might be the best place for you and Fiona to get your training. After all the continent is filled with mystery dungeons and it is home to some very nice areas. Perfect for a newbies like you two." Brook said as he rolled the map up and placed it back in his bag.

"Why is it called the central continent?" Oak asked.

"Well it may sound a bit uncreative but the continent itself is located in the heart of the region known as the Seafoam Islands. It's one of five major land masses that help make up the region. Then you have the belts that lie within certain parts of the ocean. Then of course you have all the islands that help make up the regions of the overall areas. "

"But why is all called the Sea Foam islands?"

"Well the islands that are in the oceans around these five contents are all linked in some way. At first people wanted to categorize them by the continents they were close too. It didn't really work out so they just decided to call them the Sea Foam Islands."

"I guess that makes sense." Oak said.

"Good, now we need to focus on getting a ship and a person to pilot it…or you two will be stuck with me driving, and I suck at steering ships." Brook said.

"Brook…please be serious…" Fiona said shaking her head.

"No, I am being serious I can't sail a ship to save my life…except I'm a ghost type and I'm already dead! AHAHAHA."

Fiona just shook her head and Oak just let out a sigh. Two days into the trip and they were already getting tired of his jokes.

The trio walked through the winding streets, narrow alley ways, and eventually down towards the docks. The harbor itself was small with only a handful of vessels that ranged in sizes. Sailors walked on the docks carrying crates, barrels, nets, and fishing poles. Oak, Fiona and Brook pushed their way through the sailors and towards the fist ship that sat on the end of the dock. A small wooden hut had been constructed to serve as a repair barn for the ship.

Brook lifted his metal hand and gently knocked.

"What do you want!" yelled a gruff voice from inside.

"Yes hello we are looking for someone to sail us the central continent." Brook explained, "We are willing to pay for the trip and we are offering to provide any necessitates. "

"Sorry no can do pal. I just got back from an island in the fog belt… im not ready to sail again for a while…"

"That's fine…thank you for your time, and sorry for disrupting you."

They moved onto the next shed and found it empty, and then they moved onto the next one.

After having the door slammed in their faces Brook just placed his hand on his head and sighed.

"Back in my day you could ask a sailor for help and they would immediately say yes." Brook said as the group moved towards the next ship house.

"And how long ago was that?" Fiona asked.

"Back when rampardos and armaldos ruled the world. Back when explorers had to rely on the pelipper mail service for work. Heck I remember the time I…"

Fiona and Oak groaned as the lampent continued to ramble on about the past and how much times had changed.

The sun was staring to set over the horizon and the docks had become desolate and quiet. The three travelers had talked to everyone along the dock and all of them so far had either said no, or they weren't there. There was only one more dock, and if they didn't get someone to sail them then the group would have to depend on Brook who made it very clear that he couldn't sail.

Oak and his companions glanced at the door in front of them. Brook let out a tired sigh as he raised his metal hand and knocked at the door.

"Yes?" came a voice.

"We need someone to help sail us to the central continent…can you please do this?" Brook asked.

The door to the shed creaked open and Oak was surprised to see who was behind it. It was the pokemon that Oak had bumped into earlier that day.

"Hey it's you…you dropped this by the way." Oak said as he pushed past Brook and held out the strange piece of metal attached to the rope.

The makuhita's eyes arched and he quickly snatched the item from Oaks hand.

"Thanks…" he said, "Now you need someone to sail you to the central continent…I might be able to…"

"Oh thank Arceus…we are thinking of setting sail tomorro…"

"MAKIT WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" A voice boomed from across the shipyard.

Makit jumped as he slowly turned his head. The trio followed his gaze until all three of them noticed the giant looming shape that stood over them. The creature was huge and had giant orange hands. His head looked like it was smashed and he was furious.

"MAKIT WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE!" The hariyama yelled.

"Just…just customers…they want me to sail them to the central continent."

"No…I have told you this many times you will not be sailing off to sea. I need you here."

"But I want to go out and see the world…I want to see what it has to offer and I can't see it if im stuck on this rock for the rest of my life!"

"That is enough out of you young man." The hariyama said before he turned towards the trio, "I do apologize for my son's actions please do find someone else to sail you there."

The hariyama turned and began walking back towards the town. Oak looked at Makit and noticed that the makuhita was trying his best to fight back his tears. His hands were shaking and he looked like he about to say something he couldn't take back.

"Why can't he go…?" Oak asked avoiding eye contact.

"That is none of your business you little snake…" The hariyama said coldly as he turned his head to glare at Oak.

"I would just like to know that's all…"

The hariyama just glared at Oak and shook his head. Without another word he continued walking down the docks back towards the village.

Makit and the trio watched until he had vanished from sight. Makit turned back towards the shed and grabbed the door.

"Meet me here tomorrow at noon. I will take you to the Central continent. Bring all the supplies you have and get here as fast as you can." Makit said before he slammed the door behind him.

The group was silent as they walked back towards the inn. The sun was starting to sink over the horizon and the ocean became a blanket of bright orange and yellow. Oak looked out towards the ocean wondering if he could convince Makit to rethink his idea. The makuhita obviously wanted to sail, but his father didn't want him to leave. It seemed that every time he got the chance his father had stopped him, and perhaps every time he had not given his son a clear answer as to why he couldn't leave.

Then again did he really have the right to try and stop someone from living their dream? Makit seemed very adamant about sailing out to sea and not telling his father. It didn't seem right to just run away and leave behind a family member wondering when they would return, or even if you would write to them.

"Oak is everything ok?" Fiona asked

Oak snapped out of his state of thought and realized that he had fallen behind Brook and Fiona. Oak scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and ran to catch up.

"Brook I have a question?" Oak asked.

"Ask away I'm an open book…or an open lamp!" Brook chuckled.

"Brook…it's too late for jokes…" Fiona moaned.

"It's never too late for a joke my dear!"

"Please stop…"

"Sorry, now Oak your question?"

"Do you think we should try and convince to tell Makit to tell his dad about our departure?"

"Well it's up to him. He seems unsure on if he wants to stay or leave the island. He desperately wants to see the world, but at the same time it is wrong to just leave and leave those you love unsure when you might return. We could try to stop him, but what good would it do? Maybe he has his mind set in leaving and by questioning him we are only making it harder on him. In many ways the answer to this question is left to what you believe in…do think we should convince him, or should we just sail on our marry way and leave him to wonder the idea that his father is missing him."

"I guess that makes sense." Oak said.

"Good, now then let's hurry back and grab some dinner. All this thinking, walking, and having the door slammed in my face is making me hungry."

"I second that idea Brook." Fiona said, "Oak I'll race you to the inn. Last one there is a rotten egg!"

"Hey I don't want to be a rotten egg!" Oak yelled as he ran after Fiona.

Brook watched as the two dashed up the hill and towards the business district. He let out a small chuckle before he phased into the ground ad began to making his way towards the inn to scare his students.

Oak couldn't sleep that night. He still wondered if he should try and convince Makit to stay. He tossed and turned for a bit until he gave up. He got up from his hay pile and walked towards the door. He slowly opened and closed the door softly behind him. Then he walked down the dark hallway towards the entrance of the inn. The night air was cold, but it didn't bother Oak as he walked across the square. He walked through the desolate market district and eventually down the hill leading towards the docks. As he approached the docks he noticed a large figure sitting on the edge of one of the piers.

As Oak got closer he quickly recognized the figure to be the hariyama that he and his friends had encountered earlier that day. He was sitting on the dock and was staring out towards the ocean. He only turned his head to see Oak approach his side before he returned his attention back to the ocean.

"You're that nosy snivy from earlier… I take it you still want to know why I don't want my son to leave this island." The hariyama asked.

"If you don't want to tell me that's fine." Oak said as he stood next to the hariyama, "I would like to tell you that your son is going to sail out to sea without you knowing."

"Heh, I knew he would try and play that card again. He tries, but before they leave he changes his mind. I do ask that if he does do that please don't hurt him."

"We have no intentions of hurting him. But why do you try and stop him if you know that he will try to leave."

"It's because…it's because I'm afraid…"

"Afraid?"

"I don't want to lose my son…after his mother died from an illness a few years back I changed. I became more protective, and I was afraid that if he went out to sea he wouldn't come back…"

"Is he a bad sailor?"

"No, heck everything he learned about the ocean has been passed down through our family for generations. I brought him on my business trips to teach him about sailing. You could almost say the ocean is like a second home. It's just …I don't know if he can handle the ocean on his own…"

"Then believe in him. Don't be afraid be proud that he shows interest in sailing. Let him use what you have taught him. Let him use the skills that he has gathered out in the real world. Have faith that he will return home to see you."

Makit's father sat there is silence taking in Oaks words.

"It's almost like you two are stuck in a never ending loop, but I promise you sir that we will make sure he stays focused and that he returns home someday to see you again." Oak continued.

The hariyama just sighed and continued to look out over the ocean. After a moment of silence he slowly got to his feet and began walking back towards the village.

"What time will you be leaving tomorrow."

"Noon"

Makit's father only nodded and continued walking until he disappeared into the maze of houses.

Oak sat down at the dock and closed his eyes. The sound of the water hitting the rocks and the feeling of the cold sea breeze helped Oak relax.

" _How did I come up with all that?"_ Oak thought to himself, _"After he told me he was afraid I just knew what to say. It's as if…I've done something like that before._ "

Oak tried his best to remember where and when he might have done something similar. He thought long and hard trying to unearth something from his past. Nothing he couldn't remember anything from his past. All he knew was that at one time he was a human and apparently he had really good conflict resolution skills. He slammed his fist on the dock in frustration before he got to his feet and walked back to the inn.

The next day the trio awoke and spent the day collecting and picking up all the items they would need for the trip. When noon rolled around they headed down towards the docks to meet Makit. Oak noticed a somewhat large ship behind the makuhita. Its hull was made out of a dark oak, a large, thick piece of blue wood wrapped around the deck area of the ship. Connected to the blue, wooden trim was a wooden figure head that was carved to resemble a vaporeons head that was planted on the front of the ship. A thick wooden mast with a big white sail sat in the middle of the ship, and the ships wheel was perched upon a small hut that seemed to house a stair case.

Makit looked over his passengers and smiled.

"Alright as captain of the ship I would like too formally welcome you aboard the Water Stone." Makit said as he spread his arms out.

"She's a beautiful ship Makit." Brook said looking over the ship, "A wave rider vaporeon model. This will get us where we need to go."

"Yep, I can take you guys all the way to the central continent and then I'm off to see the world. The Water Stone and I will sail all around, and one day we will come back and I can tell my dad…"

As soon as Makit mentioned his father he looked down at the dock. He shifted his feet and mumbled to himself before he glumly looked up at his passengers.

"Actually I wanted to ask you if we could call off us sailing…I don't think it would be right for me to leave jus…"

"MAKIT!" A voice boomed from the far side of the dock.

The group turned and found themselves looking at Makit's father who was making his way towards them. He looked down at his son and shook his head.

"Makit…are you really going to just give up again…"

"No…and why are you here? You're not here to stop me are you dad? Because if you are I'm…I'm actually going to leave…and I might not…"

"No, Makit I'm here to stop you from backing out. I'm here to tell you to go out and see the world."

"…."

"I was scared that I might not see you again…and after I lost your mother I didn't want to lose you too. I wanted to protect you from the evils of the world. That's why I stopped taking you with me on my business trips. That's why I stopped you from sailing out to sea...but now I see that I can't keep you here forever. This island is too small for you and you need to see what lies beyond the horizon."

"Dad…" Makit said as tears began to form in his eyes.

"Go my son…sail these pokemon to the central continent and then sail and see the world. Use what I taught you about the sea and learn more." As the hariyama said this he placed his hand on the Water Stone, "Your mother helped me buy this ship, and ever since I used it to sail. After she died I bought a new boat and just let this ship sit in the boat house.I can clearly see that you have been taking care of her. So my son I want you to take her and let her see the world again."

Makit ran forward and tried to wrap his arms around his father. The hariyama bent down and embraced his son.

"Dad one day I'm going to see the whole world and when I come back I will tell you about everything that I saw." Makit said releasing himself from his father embrace.

"I would love that Makit."

They embraced each other one more time before the hariyama finally let go. He got to his feet and began walking away from the group. Makit quickly wiped the tears from his face and turned towards Oak and his friends.

"Alright you guys load the ship up! We leave for the central continent now!" Makit said raising his fist into the air.

"YEAH!" everyone cheered as the mimicked Makit and raise their fist into the air.

Once the ship was loaded the group boarded the ship and Makit toke the wheel. In one fluid motion he spun the wheel and turned the ship out towards the open ocean. The sail caught hold of a strong gust of wind and the Water Stone lurched forward. Oak and Fiona ran towards the back of the ship to watch Lapris island shrink away.

"Makit how long will it take to reach the central continent?" Fiona asked.

"Well if we keep up this speed we should be there in three days."

"Perfect, full speed ahead! Next stop the central continent!" Fiona yelled.

Author Note

Happy 2016 everyone hope you all had a great Holiday season. Thank you again for the support and I really hope you are enjoying the series so far. If you want don't forgot to leave a comment and if you have any questions don't be afraid to send me a message. Again cheers to a great 2016 and more awesome chapters.

-Shifu18


	6. Chapter 5 The Sea

**Chapter 5**

 **The Sea**

The sea was calm as the crew of the Water Stone sailed towards the central continent. The sun was still high in the sky and the sky was cloudless. Oak laid on the deck of the ship looking up the sky. He loved being out on the water it made him feel like they were bound for a new world filled with adventure.

"So Oak what are you guys going to do once we reach the central continent?" Makit asked from the helm.

"Well according to Brook there is a guild on the continent that will take us in." Oak replied as he still looked up at the sky.

"Well you might have a problem with that. You see the guild you're trying to get into has a very difficult entry exam."

"Entry exam?"

"Yeah it helps them see who is actually ready for that kind of work. Like rescue missions, outlaw hunts, or even pirate base raids."

"Do you know what it might look like?"

"Sorry buddy I can't tell you. They tend to keep them a secret so people don't prep."

Oak just sighed and slowly got to his feet. Before he could do anything Brook phased through the deck in front of him and smiled.

"Well it's nice to that no one up here is sea sick. Fiona on the other hand isn't taking life on the sea to fondly."

"Is she going to be alright?" Oak asked with worry in his voice.

"She'll be fine I gave her some oran berries to help her stomach settle. In the mean time I would like to see how you fight Oak."

"How…I fight?"

"Yes, Fiona told me about your little act back on Lapris Island. I would like to see your power myself and possibly the weird purple aura thing."

Oak dint know what to do. Truth be told he didn't even know what had happened when he went berserk. He remembered walking towards Black Wing and then everything else was blank.

"Well?" Brook said

Oak closed his eyes and tried to focus. He tried visioning the power as something he could grab onto and unleash. He could feel something stir with in him. It almost felt like it was alive and it was waiting for Oak to unleash it. He focused on that and a strange rush of power washed over Oak. He opened his eyes and leaned back.

Two vines quickly grew from his yellow collar and began waving around uncontrollably. The vines began wrapping and unwrapping themselves around the mast and the rungs on the railing. Oak watched in horror as the vines waved and wrapped around everything. What had he done wrong? Why were they doing this? He got onto his knees and held his head in defeat.

One of the vines tried to wrap around Brook, but it simply passed right through him. Brook just sighed and wrapped his metal hand around the vine that had passed through him. A small wisp of smoke began to rise from Brook's hand.

Oak let out a small cry of pain and his vines quickly retracted back into his collar.

"What was that for?!" Oak yelled.

"Well I didn't want to get slapped in the face." Brook said calmly as he lowered his hand, "It's clear to me that you have little to no control of your powers. I should have expected this knowing your backstory."

"Well how do I control my vines? Is it hard? How long will it take?"

"That my friend is difficult to determine, and you need a real teacher to help you gain full control. All I can tell you now is that you just need to focus and try and channel the power." The lampent said before he started to lower himself into the deck, "I'm going to check on Fiona why don't you try and I don't know meditate."

After Brook had fully phased through the deck Oak sat down on the deck and closed his eyes. He tried to repeat what he did before, but to his dismay he felt noting. He tried to imagine the power like it was something he could grab onto and summon, but he felt nothing. Oak opened his eyes, let out a sigh of frustration, and walked to the side of the ship.

He watched as the waves peacefully slapped against the hull of the ship. Below the surface of the water Oak would occasionally catch a glimpse of something beneath the water. He lazily continued to do this until he noticed a small cluster of bubbles breach the surface. The bubbles quickly popped only to be replaced by more bubbles.

Oak leaned over the ships railing to get a better look at the strange bubbles, and noticed a strange dark shape making its way to the surface. The shape grew larger and larger until finally a giant column of water erupted from the surface. Oak quickly scrambled back in surprise and watched as the water fell away revealing a large, long, blue snake like monster.

"What…what the heck is that thing?" Oak whimpered as he slowly backed away.

"GYARADOS BRACE YOURSELF!" Makit yelled as he quickly ran from the ships helm and down towards Oak.

The gyarados let out a bone rattling roar before he turned his attention to the two pokemon on the deck. He reared back his head and fired a small jet stream of water. Makit quickly grabbed onto Oak and dove out of the way of the attack. The gyarados roared and unleashed another jet stream of water.

"Shit I was hoping we wouldn't run into any on our way to the Central Continent. Lucky for us though this gyarados just evolved so it's still trying to learn its new powers." Makit said as he dogged the second attack, "Bad news is once he figures out that he can charge up his water gun and fire a hydro pump then we're screwed."

"How are we screwed?" Oak asked.

"Well let's just say that if he learns hydro pump and fires at the deck or the hull then the Water Stone is going to the Davy Jones Locker."

"Locker?"

"The bottom of the sea."

"Oh…then how do we beat it?"

"Well if you could control your powers then this fight would have been one sided, but you can't so I guess I will have to take care of this." Makit said as he put Oak down and turned towards the gyarados.

The makuhita toke in a dep breath and raised his right foot into the air. He slammed his foot back onto the deck and raised his left foot and did the same thing. The gyarados seemed to become intimidated by Makit's actions, but it quickly recovered and let out another roar.

The gyarados unleashed a volley stars at Makit. Makit crossed his arms over his face and toke the attack. He again toke a deep breath and pulled his fist back. Makit jumped into the air and flew towards the gyarados's face. Once he was close enough he slammed his fist right into the center of the gyrados's head. The gyrados's entire body shuddered, but he quickly recovered and lunged at the falling makuhita. Makit didn't hesitate to unleash another powerful punch into the gyarados's chin. The gyarados reared back and Makit safely landed onto the deck.

The gyarados glared at Makit and unleashed another jet stream of water. Before Makit could raise his arms to take the hit Oak quickly dove in front of him and stretched out his arms.

"Oak get out of the way this one is stronger than the previous attacks you won't be able to rec…" Makit said before he noticed the snivy's vines hovering calmly above his head.

Oaks vines quickly surged forward and dispelled the attack. The gyarados roared and charged forward. Oak slammed his vines on the deck and used them to propel himself into the air. Once he was close enough he unleashed a barrage on sharp leaves. The gyarados charged through them and continued his charge towards the deck.

Makit pulled back his fist and began to focus. His fist began to glow with a strong light. Once the gyarados was close enough Makit jumped and unleashed his attack.

"FOCUS…PUNCH" Makit yelled before he slammed his glowing fist right into the gyarados's nose.

The gyarados let out a roar of pain as his body quickly reared back and he collapsed into the water. His body sank beneath the waves and everything was calm. Makit toke in huge gulps of air and Oaks vines quickly shrank back into his collar. Once they had fully retracted Oak collapsed onto the deck from exhaustion.

"Oak…that was amazing, how in the name of Arceus did you do that!" Makit said as a huge grin spread across his face.

"I…I don't know. I just wanted to help and suddenly my vines were out. I don't know how I was able to do jump into the air or that other attack. " Oak said before his stomach let out a loud growl.

"I guess using that much power really wears you out huh? Here let's go below deck and get you something to eat."

"What's with all the ruckus?" Brook said as he and Fiona came up from below deck, "It sounded like there was a gyarados out here!"

Oaks stomach let out another loud growl and Oak scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Well maybe it wasn't a gyarados and it was just Oaks stomach… I guess all that meditating made you hungry."

"No, Brook it was a gyarados and Oak he used his vines to..."

Before Makit could finish his story the water behind him erupted and the gyarados from before let out a tremendous roar of pure rage.

"You didn't finish him off" Brook asked, "Well then I guess it's my turn to bring some heat to this party."

Brook calmly floated towards the railing of the ship and looked up at the gyarados. The gyarados let out another roar of rage before he began to charge up his water gun. This time however the water gun seemed to grow in size and a strange blue light emanated from the center.

"Crap…were too late…BROOK GET OUT OF THE WAY THAT HYDRO PUMP WILL DOUSE YOU!" Makit yelled.

The gyarados unleashed its hydro pump which barreled towards Brook and the side of the ship. Brook calmly raised his hand and a small flame appeared. The giant stream of water slammed into Brooks flame. Within seconds the mighty hydro pump had been reduced to a cloud of steam, and Brook's small flame still playfully danced in front of him.

"Well I hope you enjoyed your turn you annoying piece of chum, because now it's my turn." Brook mumbled before he let out one of his signature chuckles, "and let's just say I do enjoy a good fish fry especially if I'm the one cooking."

The gyarados roared and lunged forward. Brook calmly pulled his arm back and flicked the small fire ball right into the gyrados's face. The small fire ball flew through the air before it slammed right into the enemies face. The gyarados let out a roar of pain before it collapsed back into the water and sank beneath the waves.

Brook sighed and turned and found a trio of shocked faces.

"What, all I did was finish him off. If you guys had continued to fight he would have just kept coming back. Young gyarados's like him want to test their strength so you need to show them your strength."

"But you just…you toke him out with a single fire ball …WHAT ARE YOU!" Fiona yelled as she still couldn't believe what just happened.

"I'm just your average everyday handsome, amazing, joke telling lampent." Brook said taking a bow.

Makit didn't buy it be continued to look at the Lampent with what Oak could guess was a questionable gaze.

"A normal lampent couldn't do what you just did. It would take years for someone to develop that kind of power. The only explanation is that you must be the legendary Brook." Makit said.

Brook held up his metal arms in defeat and looked at the trio.

"Well I guess if I am going to be your teacher then I guess I have to tell you. Yes I am that Brook. I am the legendary Brook the fire juggler, member of infamous exploration team Blazing Suns." As Brook said this he raised his arms and began to rub his lamp shade.

As he rubbed his shade a distinctive design began to show through. Once he had finished the trio could clearly see a large, orange sun on top of his lamp shade.

Makit and Fiona instantly rushed up to the lampent and began bombarding him with questions. Oak on the other hand was still confused about what was going on.

"So…he's an explorer like us? Why are you guys acting like he's a celebrity?"

"Well for starters he's a member of the legendary team Blazing Suns! They are one of the most powerful teams in the entire exploration network!" Fiona explained as she tried to force Brook to sign her paw.

"They are only one of five teams to have ever reached the highest rank. It is known as the Hero rank and it is not only the highest rank, but it's one of the highest honors that can be bestowed upon a team." Makit said before he turned back to Brook and begged him to fight him.

"This is the reason I keep my mark covered…I hate it when people treat me like this…Now both of you need to move before I fry both of you!" Brook calmly said before a small circle of flames began to orbit his body.

Fiona and Makit jumped back and the fire quickly disappeared.

"Now then I hope that this remains our little secret after all if I hear any of you squeal you know what might happen?"

"What?" The trio said

"I WILL DEVOUR YOUR LITTLE SOULS AND USE THEM TO FUEL MY FLAMES MUHAHAHAH!" Brook yelled in a raspy voice.

Fiona let out a scream of terror and Makit hid behind Oak and held him up like a shield.

"Really?!" Oak yelled as he tried to free himself.

"I guess you could say Oak that you are his oaken shield!" Brook said before he chuckled.

"Not funny you stupid lamp.." Oak grumbled

"Hey, that's Mr. Stupid Lamp to you. No need to get hot headed Oak."

The rest of the trip after that was uneventful. Brook had covered up his mark and had gone below deck. Fiona had gone back down below because she wasn't feeling to well. Makit had returned to the helm, and Oak had taken his place back at the railing this time he decided to look at the horizon. He didn't want to get mauled by another gyarados or whatever else might be below the surface.

The sun was starting to get closer to the horizon and the ocean was starting to turn a bright orange. The gyarados encounter had really set them back and Makit had tried his best to get some distance to make up for the lost time. Oak didn't mind the fact theta they might reach the continent by night fall. He enjoyed being out on the water and he enjoyed sailing with everyone. He looked up at Makit who was focused on steering the ship. A sudden sadness toke over Oak because he remembered after they reached the continent Makit would go off and sail the world.

Oak had enjoyed the makuhitas company and he really appreciated the fact that he sailed them all the way here. Even though he was focused on steering the ship for a good portion of the trip he would occasionally ask Oak questions or would start humming a soft tune. Maybe someday they would meet again, and could tell each other stories of what they saw.

"Land Ho!" Makit yelled from the helm of the ship.

Oak quickly snapped out of his deep thought and ran to the front of the ship. In front of him he could see the outline of a small port town. In the back Oak could see a giant towering shape that seemed to loom over the town. Brook, Fiona, and Makit joined him and the travelers proudly looked upon the central continent.

"Well we ran into a small problem at sea, but we made it and we made it before it got dark. Oak, Fiona, Makit welcome to the small port town known as Relikenth bay." Brook said excitedly.

"What's that giant thing behind the town?" Fiona asked.

"That my young joke hating fox is the guild, or what people call the seedling of the world tree."

"Wait that's a tree!"

"Yes and the guild is actually inside of it."

"Doesn't that hurt the tree?" Oak asked.

"No the tree and the guild have a…oh what's the word…agreement. The tree houses the guild and the guild members have promised to protect it from danger. Even though the tree is carved out in places the tree is still alive and it continues to grow."

"That's awesome I can't wait to see it. Brook can we see it today please? We have to see it today right! I mean we need to register and all that stuff right!" Fiona exclaimed excitedly as she began jumping around in excitement.

"Well the guild is probably locked down for the night. So sadly we will have to register tomorrow." Brook said, "Tonight we will bunk down at one of the inns in town."

"Alright" Fiona said in defeat.

The Water Stone continued to sail forward until the town and the tree began to become clearer. Oak could now see that the buildings were made out of the same material the buildings on Lapris Island were made out of. Except instead of red tiled roofs the roofs were all different shades of brown and green.

"This is it guys." Oak said as he raised his fist into the air, "This is the begging of our adventures, and our story!"

"YEAH" Everyone yelled as they raised their arms, paws into the air.

The Water Stone safely anchored itself in the harbor. Oak, Fiona, and Brook gathered their things and walked across the gang plank and onto the stone dock. Oak turned to thank Makit and noticed that the makuhita was glumly looking down at the deck.

"What's wrong Makit? You can finally go and sail the world like you always dreamed." Oak said.

"Yeah I know that…"

"Then why do you look so sad?"

"Well the thing is I actually really enjoyed having you guys aboard my ship."

"You're not just saying that because you fairied the great Brook across the ocean are you?" Brook said, "And you want to become a student?"

"No I actually really liked sailing with you guys and I think it would be awesome to sail with you again…actually when you guys do form a team and when you get the privilege to sail out to sea…I would like to become your permanent ship write." Makit said as he folded his hands behind his back and looked down at the deck, "If you say no that's fine…"

"Makit you big dummy of course we will ask you?" Fiona said.

"Really?"

"Yep once we get permission to sail out to sea on missions we will definitely come and see you!"

"Thank you Fiona." Makit said as he tried to fight back tears, "I just thought that maybe it would be a lot more fun to explore the world with people I can call friends. By the time you guys are ready to sail I will be stronger and the Water Stone will be ready."

The trio said their good byes to Makit and they slowly made their way into town. Unlike Lapris Islands port town this one was a bit quieter, and not as busy. The market place of course was filled with vendors, but sadly they had closed down for the night. The inn they stayed at was a bit smaller than the one they stayed at the previous night.

The innkeeper welcomed them with open arms, and offered them dinner and a room for a reasonable price. Oak and his friends gladly accepted the offer and in no time they were sitting at a table with plates of food. They ate, drank and talked about the plan for tomorrow.

The night continued until finally they rose from the table and made their way up stairs to their room. Oak collapsed onto his pile of hay and quickly feel asleep. Tomorrow they would make their way towards their new home, and the entry exam that awaited them upon their arrival.

The inn had gone dark except for one of the tables that sat in the far corner of the dining hall. Two pokemon sat at the table in silence.

"The general will be most pleased to hear that the target has come to the central island." One of the pokemon whispered in a raspy voice.

The other pokemon remained silent.

"Hohoho this makes it easier for me to capture him. Now then how much will you pay for his capture 30000, 40000, 60000, or 100000? Tell me how much and I will…"

A thick, white, claw was pressed against the pokemon's throat. He swallowed nervously and gave a weak smile.

"I mean…Heheh I was kidding I mean I'm not in it for the gold…I'm in it for the revival of your master…yeah you go and tell him that I will take the job…please don't kill me…"

The other pokemon released its grip and began walking towards the inns entrance.

"You will capture him when we tell you too…You must wait for the order and if you don't and you attack to early then I will make sure you never speak again." The other pokemon said with a harsh, female voice.

She threw open the inns door and walked out into the warm night.


	7. Chapter 6 The Guilds Entry Exam

**Chapter 6**

 **The Guilds Entry Exam**

Fiona ran desperately through the burning town. The cobblestone road beneath her feet was covered in ash and debris from the burning buildings. The houses that she had passed numerous times were now ablaze and were slowly crumbling to pieces.

Tears flowed from Fiona's face as she ran. A giant shape stepped out from one of the alley ways and glared at Fiona. A creepy smile etched itself onto its lips as it raised one of its arms and unleashed a column of fire. Fiona quickly side stepped and ran down the alley way next to her. The creature let out a laugh of pleasure as it quickly dashed into the same alley way.

Fiona picked up the pace and kept running. Without warning a burning piece of timber fell from one of the houses and blocked her path. Fiona skidded to a stop and desperately looked for a way around the flaming wood. The figure was getting closer and closer.

"No where to run little fox…I was hoping we could continue this little game." The monster said before he let out a low chuckle.

"Please don't hurt me…I don't want to die…please…" Fiona whimpered as she backed up towards the piece of wood.

The figure laughed and raised his arm. A small ball of fire began to form and a smile formed along his face.

"You're a fire type you will survive this." The monster said as a giant column of fire erupted from his hand.

Fiona covered her face and prepared herself for the pain. A few moments passed and Fiona didn't feel anything. She slowly opened her eyes and was shocked to see who was standing in front of her.

Oak stood in front of her with his arms stretched out, and his body showed no signs of damage from the attack. He slowly turned his head and gave Fiona a confident smile before he returned his attention to the monster.

"You know I really hate it when people attack my friends. I really hate it when they threaten to kill them." Oak said as he got into a battle stance. " And I really hate it when I see the cry!"

The monster just laughed and lifted his arm ready to fire another column of fire.

Oak just smiled and closed his eyes. The leaf on his tail began to slowly glow with a strange yellow light. He toke in a deep breath and slowly opened his wail slowly raised itself above his head and positioned itself so the points of his leaves were pointed right at the monster.

"Solar…beam." Oak whispered.

The light from his leaf quickly disappeared and from the tip of his middle leaf a giant column of pure energy shot forward.

The monster let out a scream of terror and pain as the beam slammed into him and sent him flying across the burning village. The monster flew through multiple houses before he finally skidded to a stop just inches from a sea side cliff. Oaks tail slowly returned to normal and he turned around to face his friend.

"Are you alright, Fiona?" Oak asked as he extended his hand out to his friend.

"Oak how are you where did you come from?"

"I heard you call for help and I ran here as fast as I could

"Oak…"

"Hey Fiona I have something to tell you…"

"Yes…Oak?"

"Fiona it's time for you to WAKE UP!"

Fiona leapt up from her pile of hay and looked around the room in confusion. She was still in the hotel room and not in her burning village.

"Well it's good to see that you are awake." Brook said as he hovered in front of Fiona.

"What time is it and where is Oak?" Fiona asked before she let out a loud yawn.

"Oak went out for a walk and I would say that it's about nine a clock in the morning. Oh, and Fiona I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Before you woke up you kept mumbling Oaks name over and over again…Do you have a crush on him?"

"What?" Fiona said as her face began to glow red.

"I mean I was thinking that maybe you where dreaming Oak as a knight in shining armor coming to save you!" Brooks said dramatically, "A TRUE TALE OF TRUE LOVE!"

"BROOK I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON…"

"Why is everyone yelling?" Oak asked as he walked back into the room.

He looked at Brook and then at Fiona. Both of the pokemon remained silent for a few moments before Brook broke the silence with a joyful chuckle.

"Oh, it's nothing Oak. Now that your back we can grab something to eat and then we can make our way to the guild."

"Then what?" Oak asked?

"Then we see if you two are able to pass this guilds entrance exam with flying colors."

The trio quickly ate and then made their out and into the streets. The stalls were alive and pokemon walked around the shopping district enjoying the weather. The trio briskly made their way through the somewhat crowded streets towards the giant tree. Soon the number of houses and pokemon began to dwindle away and the giant tree loomed before them.

Oak looked up at the towering tree in amazement. It was incredible to see that a tree could actually grow that large and have enough room to support a fully functioning guild. Oak followed the trunk all the way down until his eyes fell upon a set of giant wooden doors that were carved right into the base of the tree. The same symbol that was on the academies door was present except it was centered in the middle of a large tree.

"Well we finally made it." Brooks said before he pulled out a small confetti popper and pulled the string,

"Brook I don't think this is the time to be celebrating. We still need to pass the entry exam before we are considered real members of the guild." Fiona said as the ball of confetti landed on her head.

"Right and all you two need to do is go through those doors and get your assignment. Now go and receive your quest for greatness!"

Oak and Fiona only looked at each other before they both nodded and walked up to the door. Oak gently placed his hands on the door, and Fiona gently pushed her head against the door. Together they pushed and the door began to slowly open. Once it had opened just enough for them to enter the duo wormed their way through the gap and into the base of the tree.

"Oak we made it!" Fiona yelled as they entered, "Hello guild we are here to join you!"

All the pokemon in the room just stood there in complete silence before they resumed doing what they were doing. The room itself was huge and round. Banners of multiple shapes sizes and colors decorated the walls. A large piece of wood had been carved out and was currently being used as a giant desk. A large group of clefairy stood behind the desk talking to the pokemon standing in front of them. Some of them were writing down information on small slips of paper.

"Hello hello welcome to the mission submission center. Would you like to submit a mission or an outlaw request?" A clefairy asked form the other side of the counter.

"Uh, no we were wondering if you could direct us to the place we need to take the entry exam for the guild." Fiona said as she and Oak waked up to the counter.

"Actually you two came to the right place. I can register you two for our entry exam right here." The clefairy said, "I just need to quickly tell you the rules and once you accept them I will go and get your exam."

"Alright we are ready!" Fiona said confidently.

"The first rule is that you have to successfully get from point A to point B without being defeated, second you must make sure that the package is unharmed as you are delivering it, third you are not allowed to open the package. Doing any of these things will result in you failing the entry exam. If this happens then you must wait a month before doing it again."

"A whole month, why is that a rule?" Oak asked.

"The exam changes every moth so waiting ensures that you are not getting the same exam again. Plus it also allows you two to grow. Now if there aren't any more questions please either agree or disagree with our terms."

Oak and Fiona looked at each other and nodded. They both looked up at the clefairy and smiled.

"We agree to the terms and we are ready to take on the challenge!" The duo said confidently in unison.

The clefairy smiled and lifted her hand. With a quick wave of her hand she blinked out of existence. A few moments later she re appeared with a small yellow box. The box had a red ribbon wrapped around it and the mark of the guild had been stamped onto a bronze coin that sat on top of the ribbon and the package.

"Your mission is simple, you two must deliver this important package to the sacred pool which is located just outside of the village. The one catch is that the entrance to the sacred pool lies just past a mystery dungeon. You two have to go through get e dungeon and successfully deliver the package." The clefairy said as she carefully handed Oak the package.

"Sounds easy enough." Oak said as he examined the box.

"Oh, and you two have until sunset to complete this mission. Good luck you two!" The clefairy called as she watched the duo walk towards the exit.

"So you two just need to deliver that box to a pool before sunset…sounds easy enough." Brook said as he floated beside the duo as they made their way towards the dungeon.

Oak and his friends had left the boundaries of the town and were now making their way towards the sacred pool. They followed the trail until they hit a cross roads. A faded wooden sign pointed in two directions they followed the signs directions and began walking down the path towards the sacred pool.

The dirt path began to grow smaller and the trees began to appear taller and older as the trio continued down the path. Finally the path seemed to disappear and the trees canopy casted large shadows across the open area. In front of them a small, wooden sign appeared and the words "Sacred Pool" had been etched into the wood. A small arrow pointed towards a large, dark tunnel that had been created by the trees.

Oak felt a sudden chill run down his spine as he looked into the tunnel of trees. He felt his body begin to shake. He didn't know why, but just looking at the entrance to the dungeon made him feel nervous. He looked towards Fiona and watched as Fiona confidently walked up the entrance of the dungeon.

"Well Oak I hope your ready…This will be our first real dungeon." Fiona said before she turned and found Oak shaking, "Come on Oak you're not scared are you?"

"Me scared…how can I be scared of a forest…besides we will Brook with us…right Brook?" Oak said hopefully as he turned towards the lampent.

"Oh, this is your exam…I can't take any part in this exam. Besides this dungeon is probably only four floors so you should be fine."

"But Brook…I can't fight!" Oak yelled.

"You can fight you just need to believe in yourself. Oh, and before I go I want to give you this." The lampent said as he unslung his bag off of his shoulder and handed it to Oak, "I put a few berries and an escape orb in here for you."

Oak gently toke the bag from Brook and slung it over his shoulder. He opened the top of the bag and gently placed the package into it.

"Now then I bid you two good luck and farewell. I will meet you back at the guild when you are finished." With that said Brook phased into the earth leaving the duo alone.

Oak sighed and walked next to Fiona. The two of them looked at the entrance and toke a deep breath. Both of them raised one foot and toke one step into the dungeon.

 **Deep Woods F1**

"Fiona where did the entrance go?" Oak asked as he tried to find the entrance.

"Once you enter a dungeon you're trapped in it until you find the exit. So we have to find our way out." Fiona said.

Oak nodded and the two of them began walking down one of the trails. The trees loomed above them and the path at times became uneven and rugged. They continued their pace and turned down another trail. At one point Oak could have sworn they had passed the same rock a couple of minutes ago.

"Uhg where lost!" Fiona groaned.

"Isn't this the same place we…"

"Yes Oak this is the same spot we started in! Gah why is this so hard! I knew we should have taken another right! Even though we already followed that path!"

"Have we gone down that path yet?" Oak said as he pointed to his right.

"No we just went straight and then we back tracked."

"Then let's try that path."

Fiona sighed and they quickly made their way over towards the path. They followed it for a couple of feet before it veered right. As soon as they turned the corner the duo found themselves looking into a small field with a pair of stairs centered right in the middle.

"Thank Arceus!" Fiona muttered as she walked over to the stairs, "This is our ticket to the next level Oak."

"But we're in a forest…why is there a set of stairs in the forest?"

"Well you see Oak dungeons are like a big delicious cake. Except this cake is dangerous and has enemies."

"This cake doesn't sound to delicious…"

"It's a metaphor Oak. A cake and a dungeon both have multiple layers. The stairs either take you up or down to the next layer."

"I guess that makes sense…"Oak said before his stomach growled, "and all this cake talk is making me hungry…"

Fiona let out a small laugh before they walked up the stairs, and together they ascended to the next floor.

 **Deep Woods F2**

Oak quickly glanced around him and realized that the layout of the area had changed. Instead of thee paths there now was only two. Oak toke the lead and they headed down the path that lay in front of them. They walked a couple of feet before they entered a similar area except this one had three branching path ways leading forward, right, and left. In the middle of the room sat a small pile of berries.

"Uh, is it normal to find food just lying on the ground in dungeons?" Oak asked as he pointed towards the pile.

"Well yes, but never in one spot usually its spread out and hidden." Fiona said.

Just as Fiona had finished speaking a wild mankey jumped down from the tree branches and landed in front of the pile of food. The mankey let out a small growl and began beating the ground with his palms. He then glared at the duo with a feral glare.

"I think he though we were going to steal from him." Fiona said as she toke a few steps back from the angry monkey.

The mankey grunted and charged at Fiona. Fiona quickly dodged out of the way and the mankey quickly stopped, turned, and charged again this time at Oak. Oak side stepped but the mankey was still able to swipe his claws across the snivys side. Oak let out small hiss of pain before he grabbed onto his side. The mankey returned to his pile and again angrily slapped his hands onto the ground.

"I guess he isn't going to let us leave without paying the consequence for looking at his food." Oak muttered.

The mankey grunted and charged at them again. Fiona quickly dodged and quickly toke in a deep breath. As soon as the mankey turned to charge at her again Fiona unleashed a barrage a small orange pellets. The mankey held up his arms and blocked his face from the barrage. Fiona used this opportunity to charge at the mankey and slam into it. The mankey soared across the forest and landed with a thud somewhere deep within the foliage.

"Oak we need to get out of here quickly!" Fiona said as she quickly ran back towards Oak.

Oak only nodded and painfully began following Fiona. As Oak passed the pile of berries he did notice a familiar looking blue berry among the pile of colors. He remembered back at the academy the nurse had force fed him the berry and it had helped heal his wounds. He quickly snatched the berry and shoved it into his mouth. The pain from his cuts began to fade and Oak felt refreshed. With his new found energy he quickly ran after his friend.

The duo continued running down the path until the finally reached the stairs and scaled them to the next level.

 **Deep Woods F3**

By now Oak knew the drill and the duo quickly began walking down the different paths. At one point during their trek Fiona collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion and asked Oak to hand her something to eat. Oak dug through Brook's bag and found a big, red apple nestled between a couple of orbs and berries. He pulled the apple out and gave it to Fiona who quickly devoured the apple.

"Man I wasn't so hungry earlier. I guess fighting the mankey really made me hungry." Fiona said as she finished the last of the apple, "Oak do you feel hungry at all?"

"Not really I was earlier, but I guess that berry I ate filled me up. Why do you ask?"

"Well mystery dungeons do cause you to use more stamina as you journey through them. It's a strange phenomenon, and no can really explain it. So it is important that we eat whenever we can."

Oak just nodded and they continued their trek. They walked around the floor until they finally reached the stairs ad scaled them to the next floor.

 **Deep Woods F4**

Once they had reached the next layer they quickly picked one of the three paths and began walking down it. As they walked Oak couldn't shake the feeling that they were being followed. Every now and then he would look behind him to see if anyone was behind him, but found nothing.

They continued walking until they finally reached an area where the trees began to thin and Oak could see small rays of sunlight.

"We did it Oak!" Fiona exclaimed as they got closer and closer to the exit of the dungeon, "Our first dungeon and we made it."

"Yeah I guess we really did…I can't wait to tell Brook about this place, and…"

Before Oak could finish a mankey jumped down from the branches of the trees and glared at the duo angrily. He slapped the ground in furry and pointed at Oak with a shaky finger.

"Oak…where did you get that berry you said you ate earlier?" Fiona whispered as she and Oak began to slowly back away from the angry monkey.

"I toke one from the pile…"

"You what!"

"It was only one berry how was I supposed to know he was going to notice one missing!"

"What you thought he wasn't going to check to make sure we didn't steal anything!"

"I needed it more than he did! It was probably just going to sit there and rot!"

"Still it's not a good idea to take food from wild pokemon."

The mankey began making loud, angry grunts and from all around them they could hear the sounds of whoops and hollers. The trees came to life as more and more mankeys began to appear all around them. Soon the duo found themselves completely surrounded by a whole pack of angry mankeys.

Every one of them began slapping the branches in anger, and some of them even pointed at Oak with shaky fingers. From deep within the forest a loud and low growl erupted. The mankeys began whooping and hollering with excitement as a larger and even more pissed off looking mankey walked out from the brush. The large mankey raised his balled up fist into the air and screamed "PPPRRRIIIMMAAPPE!"

The mankeys got even louder and began chanting and slapping their tree branches in excitement. The primape turned his attention to the duo and puffed up his chest. He let out another loud battle cry before he charged at the duo. Oak and Fiona quickly dove out of the way before the primape could slam into them.

Fiona quickly turned towards the large ape and let lose a barrage of small orange pellets. The primape seemed to chuckle at the attempt and charged again. Fiona jumped out of the way and unleashed a cloud of black smoke. The primeape let put another loud cry of anger and began to run around in furry. Using this opportunity to attack Oak charged at the primape and slammed his head right into the ape's side.

The primape collapsed onto the ground, but he quickly got back to his feet. The ape pulled one of his fist back and unleashed a barrage of punches at Oak. Oak didn't have enough time to react and was hit by the barrage of fist. The attack sent the snivy soaring across the clearing before he landed with a thud onto a pile of leaves.

"Dammit!" Oak muttered as he slowly got back to his feet.

His entire body was in pain and his left eye felt swollen. He slowly began running back towards the fight only to witness Fiona getting a fist slammed right into her side. The fenekin soared and landed just a couple of inches away from the exit.

"FIONA!" Oak screamed as he waited for his friend to respond, "FIONA PLEASE TELL ME YOUR ALRIGHT!"

Fiona remained motionless and silent.

Something inside Oak snapped and a sudden rush of power quickly toke hole. A purple aura began to surround him and his eyes changed and toke on a purplish hew. His vines extended out of his collar and thrones quickly grew from them.

The primape snarled and charged at Oak. Oak raised his hand and his thorn covered vines shot forward and wrapped themselves around the enraged ape. With one swift flick of his hand his vines lifted the ape into the air and then slammed him into the ground. Again Oak commanded his vines to again slam the ape into the ground, and again. The ape had lost all of his will to fight and now looked at Oak with a look of mercy.

A crooked smile etched itself into Oaks face and he let out a small maniacal laugh. He was about to slam the ape onto the ground again, but a familiar voice stopped him.

"OAK PLEASE STOP…!" Fiona cried as she painfully tried to get to her feet, "This isn't you and whatever is happening to you needs to stop…please Oak if you can hear me please stop your scaring me…"

The thrones sank back into his vines and the purple energy vanished. His vines unraveled themselves and returned to his collar. The released primape let out a war cry and charged at Oak. At that instant Oak re summoned his vines and used them to push him up into the air. Once the primape was under him he willed his vines to wrap around the ape. Using the force from his push he slung the big ape over his head and slammed him into the ground.

The primape went limp and his eyes slowly rolled back into his head. The mankeys looked at Oak with looks of pure fear and they quickly retreated back into the forest. Once they had all vanished Oak painfully walked over to Fiona and gently picked her up. With his energy fading quickly Oak dashed though the opening and out into the area that lay beyond the dungeon.

Outside of the dungeon Oak found himself standing in a large open field filled with strange stone pillars. The ground beneath Oak was made out of large slabs of stone. He kept walking until he finally reached a large, clear pool of water. His legs final gave out and Oak collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion. Fiona tumbled from his arms and rolled towards the edge of the pool. Oaks eyes began to slowly close and the last thing he saw before he passed out was a small shape looming above Fiona.

Oaks eyes snapped open and he found himself looking up at the late afternoon sun. The pain he felt earlier had vanished and he slowly sat up.

"Well it's good to see you're awake." A kind, old voice said from behind Oak.

Oak turned and found a strange looking, brown fish looking at him. The fish was a light brown and had a few big splotches of dark brown on his body. His eyes were closed and kind smile was etched across his face.

"I take it you are taking the guild exam. I must say from all that commotion I heard earlier I am surprised to see that were not kicked out of the dungeon." The fish said, "Now tell me young one what happened back there?"

Oak quickly told the fish what had happened and the fish just laughed.

"So you met big baby Jojo. He is tough and he is strong, but one punch will send him running."

"Yeah he hit me like a heard of tauros, but…how am I alright?" Oak asked

"Well your friend woke up and slipped an Oran berry into your mouth before you passed out. Then she passed out not to long after you did. You've been asleep for about three hours." The fish said, "Oh, where are my manners I haven't introduced myself I am Poseidon the elder of the scared pool. When pokemon are troubled or have questions they come to me. I was once even the guild master a long time ago before the tree became the headquarters."

"My name is Oak, and if you don't mind me asking how old are you?"

"Well it would be rude for a relikenth like me not to tell you my age I am exactly two thousand and thirty two."

"That's amazing, and you've been alive since the tree was a sapling!?"

"No the tree has been here longer than I have. The guild moved in about one hundred years ago. Now enough chit chat I believe you have a package for me?"

"Oh yes we do!" Oak said as he quickly dug through the bag to find the box.

His heart stopped once he found it. The box had been flattened and the ribbon had been torn. Oak slowly toke the box out from the bag and placed it in front of Poseidon. The relikenth looked down at it then back at Oak and then back at the box.

"Well open it" Poseidon said

"But it's destroyed that means we failed…" Oak said as he slumped onto the ground.

"You didn't fail. I would say you passed the exam."

"Whys that?"

"I watched you carry your team mate all the way here. Even after you collapsed you kept trying to make sure she was alright. In my eyes that is the true essence of a true leader. You should be proud that you two made it out not alone, but together. Time and time again I have watched as teams of three or four pokemon take on our exam. They tell me about how they used someone as a shield so they could make it. After they tell me that I fail them. It disgust me to hera such rubbish. A true leader would never leave his teammates to die. As I saw you did today. I watched you carry her all the way here even though you were wounded you still pushed yourself to succeed. Not only did you succeed, but you both passed."

A small smile stretched across Oaks face after he heard him say that.

"So Oak as the elder I say you passed an you have every right to open that box."

Oak nodded and opened the lid. Inside Oak found a small, round, metal, badge that had a pair of wings attached to the side of it. He slowly lifted the badge out of the box and held it high.

"That badge is the symbol of the explorer organization you and your partner have completed the entry exam." Poseidon said before he dove into the pool and quickly resurfaced with a small stone in his mouth, "This stone goes in the middle of the badge. This is proof that you have meet me and have successfully survived the dungeon. Congratulations Oak and…. Still passed out fox!"

Oak toke the small stone from Poseidon and placed it into the badge. The stone quickly began to change from a dull gray into a vibrant pink. The badges gray metal face began to change until it became two colors. The top half of the badge was a deep viridian and the bottom half was a fiery red.

"Fiona we did it!" Oak yelled as he held the badge up to Fiona.

Fiona slowly opened her eyes and yawned. Once she saw the badge her eyes grew in size and she jumped into the air excitedly.

"Oak we did it! We are officially a member of the guild!" Fiona yelled before she remembered she was injured.

"Thank you for everything Posie…" Oak said before he realized that the fish had dived back into his pool.

"Well Oak I don't know who gave you the badge, but who cares WE DID IT! Now let's head back to town and tell them we finished!"

Oak nodded and the duo raised their hands/paws into the air.

"GET READY WORLD BECAUSE HERE…WE…COME!" Oak shouted as he raised the badge higher into the air.


	8. Chapter 7: Meet the Guild

**Chapter 7**

 **Meet the Guild**

The sun was starting to slowly sink into the horizon as Oak and Fiona ran down the dirt path back towards the guild.

"Hurry Oak!" Fiona yelled as she dashed past Oak.

"Hey…slow down…you're going to fast Fiona!" Oak called a she tried his best to keep up.

The fenekin eventually slowed down and Oak quickly caught up. After Oak told Fiona about Poseidon and the badge the duo decided to rest before they returned to town. Once they had rested they discovered a trail that lead back to the main trail.

The duo continued walking and eventually the giant tree came into view. Oak and Fiona quickened their pace and ran towards the base of the tree. As they approached they found Brook lazily floating in front of the door to the mission submission center.

"What in the name of Arceus happened to you two!?" Brook yelled as he floated towards the duo, "I thought it would be a nice easy dungeon!"

"Well… we …I mean Oak kind of pissed off a whole pack of mankey and we also had or fight their leader." Fiona replied.

"Wow, way to throw me under the bus…" Oak mumbled.

"What's a bus?" Fiona asked

"I don't know I just…It just popped into my head."

"Regardless you two are alive and still standing. Even if you did cause a bit of monkey business." Brook chuckled, "Now the main question did you pass?"

Oak pulled the badge from the bag and handed it to the lampent. Brook held the badge high and turned it to reveal the colors.

"Interesting…it seems that Oak has been chosen to be the leader." Brook said as he handed the badge back to Oak.

"Wait what do you mean by I'm the leader?"

"Well the top color of the badge corresponds with the leader. The bottom color corresponds with any fellow team mates. Usually the color appears after you delegate the leader, but it seems that the badge has chosen you to lead."

"First, how can a badge choose a leader, and second why me? Why not Fiona?"

"This is a rare occurrence and it normally doesn't happen, but you did something that must have made you worthy leader material."

"But why me?"

"Don't question the badges choice." Brook said as he gave Oak a pat on the head, "Like I said it's rare to see this happen and usually when it does happen the team eventually become legends. Now then let's get you two in there. You two need to pass this exam, and please Oak don't cause any more monkey business."

"I won't." Oak muttered.

The trio pushed open the large wooden doors and entered the room. It was mostly empty save for a few pokemon filling out a mission application. The clefairy Oak and Fiona had spoken to earlier raised her head and smiled.

"Welcome back you two, so how did everything go?"

"We passed the exam and we are ready to join the guild." Oak said as he placed his badge on the desk.

The clefairy gently picked up the badge and examined it. After a few moments she gave the badge to Oak and nodded in approval.

"It seems that everything is in order now when you're ready I can teleport you three up…"

"OH MY GOD IS THAT BROOK!" A pokemon yelled from across the room.

Instantly all the eyes in the room fell upon the lampent, and before any of them could act the pokemon dashed towards the lampent.

"Please…please everyone…I need space." Brook yelled but his words were quickly drowned out by the other voices.

"Brook can you please be a reference for my next job?"

"Broom is it true that you come from the fog belt?"

"BROOK FIGHT ME YOU LAMP!"

"Brook are you really married?"

"Brook show me your special technique!"

"Brook…"

"ENOUGH!" Brook yelled as he quickly summoned a small circle of purple flames.

The small crowd of pokemon fell silent and then let out a roar of approval.

"Dammit I thought I covered my mark…I guess being out in the sun for too long must have worn away the cover…"

"Brook I have one question…"

"Nope, nope, nope, nope. I'm sorry but I have to go." Brook quickly said before he sank into the ground.

The pokemon groaned with disappointment and returned to what they were doing before the outburst. The clefairy quickly jumped back over the desk and looked at the duo with a look of embarrassment.

"You won't tell anyone that I just left my post to see a celebrity?"

"Yep, our mouths are sealed." Fiona said

"And you won't tell anyone that I asked Brook if he was married will you?" The clefairy mumbled as her face began to turn bright red.

"Again lips sealed."

"Good, now then if you would please grab onto my hands. I will take you to guild master and there you will take second part of the exam. The hardest part and the part that almost everyone fails."

Before Oak or Fiona could blink the mission submission office vanished and was quickly replaced by another large open room. In front of them sat a large wooden door similar to the one at the base of the tree. The clefairy walked up the door and knocked.

"Sir they are here." The clefairy said

The door slowly began to open and the clefairy stepped aside and motioned for the duo to enter the room. Once they were inside the door closed behind them leaving them in yet another large room. Except this one had a large viridian caret spread across the floor. In the far corners of the room braziers casted a warm light across the walls and the celling. On the back wall of the room sat a giant window that allowed the light from the late afternoon sun to shin through painting the room a somewhat bright orange.

A large, green pokemon with a giant flower on his back was gazing out the window watching the sun slowly set. He let out a small relaxing sigh before he slowly turned towards the duo.

"Well?" He said in a low, and gruff voice.

"Oh, sorry sir…It's an honor to meet you guild master." Fiona said as she dipped her head down in respect.

Oak quickly followed Fiona's example and bowed his head as well. The guild master just grunted and slammed his foot onto the ground.

"I admire your respect, but I am not a king. I am simply a guild master. Raise your heads children, and stand at attention!"

"Yes sir!" The duo said in unison and they quickly straitened themselves.

"So you wish to join my guild?"

"Yes sir!"

"Then let me see the badge."

Oak toke a few nervous steps towards the guild master and placed the badge in front of him. The guild master looked down at it and then looked up at Oak.

"So you are the leader?"

"Yes…sir." Oak said as beads of sweet began to roll down his head.

"I will ask you one question and I want you to answer me truthfully."

"Ok"

"As the leader of this team are you prepared to sacrifice your life for not only the members of your team, but for the people who call this planet their home? Even when you know that it may seem impossible to survive?"

Oak was silent for a few moments before he toke in a deep breath.

"…yes I do… I already vowed that I would protect my friend...so I now vow to protect everyone who needs our help…even if it means sacrificing myself"

"And do you young fox vow to protect him and even if it means your life?"

"No…I will never run away…never again…because this time I have a friend who will stand by me no matter the situation…I promise that I will never abandon him."

The guild master nodded his head in approval.

"I see that you two are true to your words. The fire in your eyes and the determination in your voice is evidence enough. But always remember that someday your vows to protect those you call your allies will be tested."

The duo remained silent and continued to look at the guild master. A large smile etched itself into the guild masters face.

"You two will fit in perfectly here. As guild master I welcome you into my guild." The guild master said, "Now then allow me to introduce myself. I am guild master Venusaur."

"My name is Oak."

"My name is Fiona."

"Fiona and Oak as members of my guild you must decide on a name for your team. From this you two will truly be a part of our family. So what will your name be?"

Oak hadn't really thought about a team name. He thought long and hard, but nothing came up. He turned to Fiona but saw that his friend was also trying to think of something. He looked up above the guild master and noticed the same symbol that had been carved onto the front door had been carved into the wooden wall.

Seeing the large tree gave him an idea. He had fallen out of tree on the day that he and Fiona meet. That event is what led to them setting out to sea to join the guild.

"We will be known as Team New Leaf!" Oak said confidently.

"Team New Leaf, what inspired you to pick this name?" The guild master asked.

"Well this is kind of like a new start to our lives as members of the guild, and you know it's kind of like the saying we are turning over a new leaf. So I thought it seemed suitable for us."

"What do you think of this name Fiona?" The guild master asked.

"I like it! I think it's perfect for our team."

"Then it's settled from this day forth you two will be known as Team New Leaf!" Guild master venasuar said before he slammed his foot against the wooden floor.

A small yellow box slowly lowered itself from the ceiling and gently placed itself in front of the duo.

"This box contains badges, a bag, a map, and of course a banner creation kit."

"A banner creation kit?"

"Yes, it is a tradition this guild has performed since its founding. The banner is what unites your team. It is a symbol that identifies and distinguishes one team from another. So make it something that you and your team can honor and be proud of."

The duo nodded and the guild master smiled.

"That concludes the introduction to the guild, and this also concludes your entrance exam. Now, it is getting late and I bet you two are starving after your little trip to the sacred pool. Luna could you come in please?"

The wooden door creaked open and the clefairy from earlier walked in. She bowed her head in respect and smiled at the duo.

"Yes, sir how may I be of service?" Luna asked

"I need you to show these two to their room. I think branch five will suit them nicely."

"Of course guild master." Luna said, "If you two would please follow me."

"Have a good night Team New Leaf and I will see you at dinner."

The duo turned and bowed at the guild master before they followed Luna out the door. The door slowly closed behind them and the guild master slowly turned towards the window.

"Team New Leaf" The venasuar said, "The boy…he seems different...we will need to keep a close eye on him."

Once they were outside of the guild masters chamber Luna led the duo towards a set if wooden stairs. The three of them descended down them into another large, circular room. A large metal brazier sat in the middle of the room, and it created a warm, homely glow. Two doorways had been carved into the wall of the tree.

"This floor houses the walkways to the mess hall and the library. The library is open twenty four hours a day and it is filled with books, maps, and sea charts. The mess hall is only opened three times a day. You will get a chance to see it later once it opens for dinner." Luna said before she walked towards another set of wooden stairs.

They descended the stairs until they reached a similar circular room in size. Except instead of two doors this room had three doorways

"This floor is known as branch room 4-6. Each of these doorways leads to a separate branch which has a total of four teams." Luna said bef0re she pointed at one of the doorways which had a big five carved above it, "That of course is branch five, and that is where you will be stationed."

Fiona and Oak followed Luna through the doorway and found themselves outside of the tree. A long, wooden rope bridge stretched from the opening to a far off branch. At the other end of the bridges Oak could make out a collection of small buildings. Each of them sat on top of one of the large branches that grew from the main branch. In the center of them sat a small wooden platform that seemed to serve as a common area.

Oak watched as Luna and Fiona began to make their way across the bridge. Oak toke one shaky step and gently placed it on the first wooden plank. The bridge shuddered and Oak quickly pulled his foot back.

"Oak is everything all right?" Fiona yelled. She and Luna were currently already in the middle of the bridge.

"Yeah…I'm fine just uh trying to uh you know hehe…" Oak said trying his best to hide the fact that he was afraid.

"Oak everything will be fine just don't look down." Luna called.

"Ok, don't look down don't look down. Just don't look down…" Oak muttered to himself as he toke another shaky step.

As soon as his foot touched the plank he looked down. The world beneath him began to spin and he quickly jumped back.

"I can't…it's to high!" Oak yelled.

Fiona just sighed and walked back towards Oak. She gave him a confident smile and gently nudged his with her nose.

"Oak its fine if you're scared. Here if you want you can hold onto my ear or…"

Oak quickly grabbed onto Fiona's tail and tightened his grip. Fiona let out a small yelp of surprise and slowly turned towards Oak.

"Or…you could grab onto my tail…just please loosen your grip…" Fiona said trying her best to keep a smile.

Oak nodded and the two slowly began to walk across the bridge. To Oak it seemed like an eternity. He could see the ground beneath him through the spaces in the planks. The bridge swayed form side to side and this only served as another layer onto his growing fear. Oak was relieved when they finally reached the small wooden platform. Oak released Fiona's tail and they continued to follow Luna. The clefairy led them up a set of small stairs up towards one of the tree houses.

The house itself wasn't too big. It was a rectangular building with a small balcony hanging from the side. Inside the duo found a somewhat large room with a large wooden table in the center. On the far back wall of the room sat a set of three doors. On the left wall was another door which opened into a small storage space. The right wall also had a door which led out onto the balcony.

"The rooms in the back are bed rooms." Luna explained, "One for male teammates and one for female teammates. The room in the middle is reserved for the team leader."

"How come the team leader gets his own room?" Fiona said.

"Well he or she needs space to think plus studies have shown that team leaders that have their own space have an easier time managing their stress."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, look t the time I need to go tell the chief that we will need a few more chairs at the table. Toddles!" Luna said before she blinked out of existence leaving Fiona and Oak alone.

"Well I guess our tour is over…Let's get settled in shall we."

Fiona had gone to her room and Oak walked over to the leader room. The room was a bit smaller than the main entry room. A small pile of hay sat against the far wall under a small square window. A small, empty, wooden bookcase leaned against the far right wall, and a small, wooden table sat next to it.

Oak waked over to the pile of hay and flopped down onto it. After having to walk to and from the dungeon and fight an enraged monkey Oak was exhausted. His eye lids began to grow heavy and he began to slowly drift to sleep.

A sudden knock at the door pulled Oak out of his light sleep. He rubbed his eyes and grumbled unhappily as he opened his door and walked towards the front door of the tree house. When he opened the door he was surprised to find a strange looking pokemon standing in the door way.

The pokemon was just a few feet taller than Oak. A large lily pad sat on top of his head and red beak sat underneath his eyes. The pokemon's top portion was a light blue and the bottom half of his body was a dark green.

"Is this a bad time?" The pokemon asked in a somewhat deep, accented voice.

"No, what can I do for you?"

"Well a little joltic told me that we got some new mates here on our branch. Just wanted to see if you were interested in meeting your new branch mates?" The pokemon said as he lazily scratched his arm.

"Uh, sure just give me a minute."

"Take your time mate."

Oak slowly closed the door and quickly ran to Fiona's room. He knocked and told her that someone was at the door. The fenekin pushed open the door and followed Oak. When Oak opened the door the pokemon was already walking down towards the common area.

"Well, you two coming?"

Oak and Fiona nodded and followed him. As the approached the meeting area Oak could hear the sound of voices. A group of seven pokemon were talking amongst them and as Oak and Fiona approached their voices quickly softened until it was silent.

"All right fellas I would like you to meet the new team that had moved in. Their names are…Uh…shit I forgot to ask didn't I?" The pokemon said as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment

"Reggie!" The pokemon yelled in unison.

"Hey I'm sorry…I guess my mind went somewhere else… Anyway I'm Reggie." Reggie said, "And all these guys are branch five."

"Hi my name is Oak."

"My name is Fiona, it's nice to meet you all."

"Yes, greeting my new allies!" An elgyem said as he bowed his head, "I am Isaac member of team Brain Storm!" Isaac said, "And this gelatinous fellow is Greg!"

"Hello!" the solosis said in a muffed voice.

"And this is Albert the fearless leader of team Brain Storm!"

"Pleased to meet you." Said the abra that was standing in between Greg and Isaac, "I hope that sometime in the near future we can work together on a job."

"HA now if your done I think it's time for us to make our introduction!" said a sawk, "I am the GREAT Tyler! I know you must have heard of me somewhere and you are dying to get my autograph! Sorry, but I only give them after I eat, after all being great does create a ferocious appetite!"

"Uh, I think we're good…" Fiona said.

"It's nice to meet you guys." The throh said giving the duo a big smile "Names Justin and I am Tyler's brother. Together we make up a two man team know as Team Fisticuffs.

"Personally I would have liked it if we called it team JT!"

"Tyler I told you that name doesn't work…" Justin muttered.

"But we are a great team, and I want the world to know how great we are!"

"Alright…It was nice meeting you guys."

"Likewise" Oak said.

"…"

"You already know who I am." Reggie said.

"…" The tyrogue standing next to Reggie remained silent.

"My name is Digby." The drilbur said happily.

"… You two look weak…" The tyrogue muttered.

"Now Kid be polite." Reggie said, "This silent guy goes by the name Kid."

"Again Reggie these two weaklings won't last a day out in the real world…"

"Hush..."

"Anyway I am the leader of Justice." Kid continued, "We are a three man team and currently the third highest ranked team here."

"Hey maybe someday we might pass you."

"Heh, don't make me laugh. Only the strong will survive and the weak will fall."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fiona said as she glared at Kid, "Just because we just joined doesn't mean we are weak. One day we will pass you in rank and on that day we will fight and see who really deserves the spot."

"Alright then we accept your challenge. Though I doubt you guys will ever be on the same level as we are because…"

"Enough you two." Reggie said as he got between Fiona and Kid, "Let's all just try and get along alright."

"Fine." Fiona said

"…" Kid remained silent before he turned and began walking towards the bridge.

"Kid where are you going?"

"Dinner, are you two coming?" Kid said

Reggie shook his head and began following Kid across the bridge.

"It was nice to meet you two." Digby said before he scurried off towards to catch up with the rest of his team.

"What's his problem?" Fiona asked as the rest of branch five walked across the bridge, "Is he always like that?"

"Kids had a tough life. Before he came to the guild he lived on an island just west of the Eastern continent." Albert said, "From what Reggie told us Kid's entire home was destroyed by pirates. Kid fled the island and eventually found his way to a small island just a few miles away from his home. That's where he met Reggie and the two of them decided that one day they would get revenge."

"Still doesn't explain why he's such a big jerk." Fiona muttered.

"You will get used to it." Justin said, "Once you get to know the guy he's actually not a bad pokemon."

"We will have to see."

After Fiona said that the group remained silent as they entered the tree and ascended the stairs up to the next level. Once there the group turned and walked through the opening parallel to the doorway that opened into the library. Just like branch five a wooden suspension bridge stretched across the gap between the truck and the branch holding the mess hall.

Oak quickly grabbed onto Fiona's tail and they slowly made their way across the bridge. The building that served as the mess hall was a very long building. It was so long that supports had to built just to help keep it stable on the large branch. A line of small circular windows lined the wooden sides, and a large wooden doorway sat in the center of the side that faced the group.

Inside the mess hall Oak saw a giant, long, wooden table that sat in the middle of the entire room. On one of the far walls sat a small fire place, and above t sat a wooden carving of a fish that looked just like Poseidon. On the other wall a large curtain had been set up to separate the kitchen from the main dining hall. A small trail of some rose out from the top of the curtain and the sound of someone humming filled Oaks ears.

Branch five walked around the large table and toke their seats. Oak and Fiona followed them and sat in between Tyler and Isaac. Oak looked around the table and wondered where everyone else was.

"Hey Isaac why are we the only one here?" Oak asked

"Well you see my green friend. It's a tradition that branch five be the first ones here. That way we can get a seat and not have to worry about shoving our way in to get one."

Just as he finished speaking another group of teams came in and took their places at the table. Soon two more team entered the mess hall and toke their seats just beside branch five. The room began to fill with sounds of excited voices as the pokemon waited patiently for the food. A few moments passed and the final two teams entered. They were followed by a large owl and a giant yellow spider. The spider and the owl toke their seat as the far end of the table near the fire place.

Finally the guild master suddenly appeared at the head of the table. The room slowly fell silent and the teams watched as Luna jumped up onto the table. The clefairy slowly looked around the room before she nodded in approval.

"Well it's good to see that mostly everyone is here tonight. Sadly two of our staff members won't be here this evening. Before we welcome our chief out I would like to make an announcement. If you all haven't noticed we have two new faces at our table. I would like you all to meet Oak and Fiona or team New Leaf!" Luna said as she pointed towards the duo.

"Team New Leaf, what do they make tea?"

"What a stupid name."

"Yeah it sounds like something a group of wanna be explorers would make."

"I don't hear any cheers or welcomes" Luna said as she slowly lifted her hands.

"Shit she's going to use it!"

"Last time she used that it toke me weeks to get the sludge out of my fur!"

"UH… Uh welcome?"

The room fell silent and Luna slowly waved her fingers to the left. The room quickly exploded in cheers and welcomes. Luna lowered her hands and smiled.

"The guild is all yours Guild Master Venusaur." Luna said as she jumped off of the table and sat next to him.

"GUILD ATTENTION!" Venusaur yelled

The room fell silent.

"May the food we are about to eat give us strength. May it allow us to refill our stomachs after a long day of work. As guild master I order you all you eat!"

"AYE AYE SIR!" The teams yelled in response.

The curtain in the back of the room pulled away and a large lickilicky walked out into the dining room. In his arms he carried five large plates each piled high with food. The chef walked over to the table and placed each plate gently onto the table. The pokemon at the end of the table grabbed onto the plate and passed it down until it reached the guild master. Once all five plates were on the table the chief sat down and smiled.

The guild members began reaching out to the plates and grabbing large helpings of food, and dropped them onto their plates. Oak quickly leaned onto the table and tried to grab some of the food. He managed to get a hold of a few berries and quickly put them on his plate. H reached out again and again managed to get some food.

Fiona on the other hand wasn't having as much luck. Every time she had an opportunity to grab a piece of food it slipped away. She was only able to get a hold of a few berries and a small piece of meat.

"Well Oak looks like we got to be quick if we want food here." Fiona muttered as she chewed.

"Yeah these guys are animals when it comes to food." Oak replied.

"You think this is bad wait until a day we have a special meal. That's when things get really crazy." Isaac said, "In fact a fight almost broke out…"

"Messier what are you doing!" The chief yelled from across the room.

"I don't like carrots…" The pokemon muttered.

"I don't care if you don't like them, but I do care about what you are doing with the food."

"Geez Gustave all I'm doing is throwing them away. No one else wants them."

"AS A CHIEF THAT IS AN INSULT TO ME MESSIER! I DIDN'T STAND OVER A BOLING POT FOR TWO HOURS TO HAVE MY FOOD BE WASTED!" The lickilicky yelled as he slowly got to his feet.

"Gustave…no need to get up I will eat them." The pokemon said as he quickly began shoving the carrots into his mouth, "See…delicious…"

The chief got to his feet and slowly walked over to the pokemon. Before anyone could blink the Gustave had his long, pink tongue wrapped around the pokemon. He lifted him up to his eyes and glared at him.

"I don't care if you ate them. You already showed disrespect to me and my kitchen. I want you in here tomorrow before sunrise."

"Why?"

"You will clean the mess hall of course with a small brush! Then you will clean each of my pots and pans until I can see my reflection. Am I clear?"

"Yes…yes..."

"Yes what?"

"Yes master chief!"

"Good now eat, and you better be in here tomorrow." Gustave said as he lowered the pokemon into his chair.

The chef turned and walked back to his seat where he continued to happily eat his food. Oak looked at Fiona and smiled.

"I have to say we joined a very interesting guild."

"Tell me about it…let's make it a rule to never to piss him off."

Dinner quickly came to an end and the teams began to make their way back to their branches. Oak and Fiona followed branch five down the flight of stairs and across the bridge. From there they said there good nights and each team retired into their separate tree houses.

Once inside their base Fiona quickly said goof night to Oak before she retired to her room for the evening. Oak walked back to his room and flopped down on the pile of hay. His eyes quickly closed and he slowly drifted off to sleep.


	9. Chapter 8: A Bitter Sweet First Mission

**Chapter 8**

 **A Bitter Sweet First Mission**

The morning sun filtered its way through the canopy of leaves. Brook had awoken Oak and Fiona from their slumber with the promise of an exciting mission. Oak and Fiona quickly rubbed the sleep from their eyes and followed Brook out of their tree house and onto the bridge.

"I think you two are going to like today's mission. I think it will bee very fun!" Brook said before he began laughing at his own pun.

"Wait you went and picked a mission for us!" Fiona said unhappily.

"Of, course I did. You two were fast asleep and if you want to get the good missions you have to wake up early so you can get them fresh right out of the submission office."

"But I need my beauty sleep." Fiona said as she walked off the bridge and into tree, "What's the impact of not getting a mission early."

"Money…level…rank points…recognition…you know the important things that every team needs to survive in this doggy dog world."

Oak and Fiona remained silent as they followed Brook into the circular room and up the stairs to the next level. They then crossed over the bridge that connected the dining that branch that held the dining hall to the rest of the tree.

The dining hall was somewhat empty and quiet this morning. Only a few teams sat at the table and they seemed to be waiting for their food. Oak, Fiona, and Brook toke their seats at the table and waited patiently.

"Bonjure Oak and Fiona" Gustave said as he poked his head out from behind the curtain, "My my you two are early I don't start serving breakfast until eight. Unless you are here for the early bird meal?"

"Yes, we are going to need the early bird meal because we need to get on the road as soon as possible." Brook said.

"Of course, I will prepare a small pack for you three. Please wait a moment." Gustave said before he pulled his head back behind the curtain

"Where are going exactly?" Fiona asked.

"We will be traveling to a small farming town just north of our current location. There we will meet our client who will give us the scoop on your mission."

"And what exactly are we doing?"

"Trust me my dear its best if you wait and see what I picked for you. I promise you it will not bee forgettable."

Once Gustave gave them their food the trio descended down the tree and eventually out into the forest that lied just beyond the border of the town. As they walked Fiona continued to pester Brook about the mission, but the lamp kept his lips sealed. At one point Fiona even stole Brooks food pouch and promised to return it if he told her what the mission was.

"Jokes on you Fiona I can go a long time without eating… So that means I can't really die from hunger! Ahahaha get it I'm a ghost and I'm already dead." Brook chuckled as he snatched back his food pouch, "Now get a move on you two we can't bee late!"

Fiona and Oak followed Brook as they walked down the well-worn dirt path. After an hour of walking Oak began to notice a small village that sat in the center of a small clearing. Unlike Relecanth bay the town was quiet and somewhat void of life. The village square was only surrounded by a few small wooden houses and each appeared to be vacant. A few of them even had signs saying "Closed for the season" and "Gone fishing see you next year!"

They quickly walked through the square and deeper into the forest. Eventually a two storied, wooden house came into view, and just behind the house sat a large stone wall that bordered a thicker portion of the forest. As they approached Oak began to notice small wooden signs with the words "Danger" and "Keep out Private Property!" along the path. He looked up at the wall and noticed that the same signs had been glued to the wall.

"Brook I don't like the looks of this place." Oak said as he noticed another sign with a strange creature painted on it.

"Just relax this will all be over before you know it. Besides if you two get in trouble I will be here to defend you." Brook said.

"Yeah or you will ditch us like last time…" Fiona muttered.

"That was your entrance exam this is different. This is an actual mission that I pray we complete with flying colors."

The three of them continued walking until they reached the wooden house, Brook raised his metal and hand and gave the door a firm knock. The door slowly opened revealing a nervous looking scraggy.

"Are you guys the guys who accepted my request?" He asked.

"Yes." Brook said stepping aside revealing Oak and Fiona, "This is your line."

"Oh, us yes… we are the ones who accepted the mission. I am Oak the leader of Team New Leaf."

"Team New…Leaf…? I wanted a guild team not a traveling tea shop." The scraggy said before he let a small laugh.

"But we're not a traveling tea shop we are a team." Fiona said as she gritted her teeth.

"Hey do you guys serve your tea with lemon or sugar!" The scraggy said before he began laughing at his own joke.

"That's enough" Brook said as he pushed past Oak and glared down at the scraggy, "You labeled this request as a level E request. Meaning that these two can deny to help you and it will have no impact on them what so ever. We can even file a complaint against you for that joke."

"Look I was only joking…I really do need your help…"

"No no maybe we should go back to the guild and send a team with a "cooler" name." Brook said coldly as he continued to glare down at the scraggy.

"No you guys…you guys are fine…"

"How about I go and get team Brainstorm to help you, or how about team windstorm? Heck why don't I go give team Stardust a call!"

"Who's team Stardust?" Oak asked.

"I don't know it's a name I heard someone mention…"

"Look I'm sorry for saying that…I really need some help and if you guys are still willing to help I will pay you anything…" The scraggy said as he got to his knees, "If I don't get this done I might lose my job…and my master might lose his farm…

The trio was silent for a few moments before Oak toke a deep breath and broke the silence.

"Ok, what do you want us to do?"

"Well…I need you guys to go into the farm and collect a small sample of honey from the hive."

"Sounds easy enough!" Fiona said as she turned and began walking towards the entrance to the forest.

"Uh Fiona…have you forgotten where honey comes from?" Brook asked as he quickly floated over.

"Uh…flowers…trees…?"

"No, combee and beedrill."

"…bee…beedrill…"

The fenekin quickly turned on her heels and began walking back towards the wooden house. Before she reached the door Brooks's metal hand wrapped itself around her tail and he began dragging her back towards the entrance to the farm.

"No Brook please! I hate beedril they sting…they smell…and they string…and and and they are scary oh and did I mention they smell bad?"

"Stop your rambling and focus" Brook grumbled, "Come on Oak we don't have all day."

" _This… is going to be a long day."_ Oak thought to himself as he followed Brook and Fiona into the forest.

The forest was filled with tall oak trees with large, green canopies. The canopy created shadows that covered the small, worn, dirt path that stretched deep into the forest. As Oak walked he noticed that some of the trees had a small yellow pods hanging from the trunk. Upon closer inspection Oak realized that the pods had a pair of triangular eyes with a single white pupil in the center. He even noticed that some of them were glaring at him with an intense glare.

"Hey Brook what are…"

"SHHHHH." Brook said as he covered Oaks mouth, "You need to lower your voice. Those are kakuna and if you talk too loudly you might cause them to alert their guardians."

"Guardians?"

"Yes, the adult beedrill…and if they catch us here well it won't be pleasant." Brook said as he lowered his hand from Oaks mouth, "If you need to talk to me just tap me on the shoulder…that way we don't cause any trouble."

Oak nodded and the lampent waved for them to keep following. The trees seemed to grow thicker as they traveled deeper and deeper into the forest. The number of kakuna on the trees slowly grew from one on each tree to about four on each trunk or six hanging from the foliage.

Seeing them made Oak uneasy and for some odd reason he felt that the kakuna were watching him. He decided that maybe if he started a conversation he could avoid their blank and intense gaze.

"Hey Fiona why do you hate Beedrill?" Oak whispered.

"Well when I was younger I got stung by a beedrill…It hurt really bad and from that day forward I don't like them…."

"What about combee? Don't they sting?"

"No, they are a bit more peaceful…Beedrill are the aggressive attackers while comebee and the workers and the last line of defense."

"So beedrill bad and combee good?"

"I guess that's one way to look at it." Fiona said before she began glancing around nervously at the kakuna.

Oak followed her gaze and realized that a whole group of kakuna were gazing at them. Oak quickly reverted his gaze towards the ground and continued walking.

The trio continued their hike until they reached a large open clearing. The field was covered in wild flowers that ranged in color and sizes. In the center of the field sat a giant tree that casted a large shadow across the field.. All around the trees trunk Oak could see kakuna and another strange looking pokemon. It looked like a honeycomb, and it had a pair of small wings which flapped continuously to help keep the creature in the air.

"This is beautiful!" Fiona said happily as she gazed out over the field.

"Children I would like to welcome you to the heart of the forest." Brook said as he spread out his metal arms, "This is where we will find the hive."

"Uh, Brook I don't see a hive." Oak said.

"Well this is obviously a very large colony of bees, and we are in an open field. So the combbe and beedrills have built their hive underground." Brook said before he pointed towards the tree, "Follow the trunk down and you will see the opening."

Oak did what Brook had instructed and followed the trunk down to the ground, and he quickly noticed a small pile of rocks at the base of tree. Every now and then a combee would fly out of the hole and off into the forest beyond.

"We have to go…in there…" Fiona asked as she glanced at Brook nervously.

"No, remember we just need to secure a small sample of honey. If we are lucky enough then we might be able to get some right at the entrance." Brook said before he began to float out into the field.

Oak picked up his feet and quickly followed Brook out into the field. Just as they reached the base of the tree Brook turned towards Oak and sighed. Oak gave Brook a puzzled look before he turned and noticed that Fiona was not behind him.

"She will never conquer her fear if she continues to run from it." Brook mumbled as he turned his attention back to the large hole at the base of the tree, "All right Oak I guess it's up to you and me to complete this mission. All you need to do is stick your hand into the hole and…

"Wait why do I have to go into the hole?" Oak asked.

"Why? Because it's your mission Oak not mine, and if Fiona is to chicken to come out and help then I guess it's up to you to finish it."

Oak sighed and walked up to the edge of the opening. A small gust of humid air touched Oaks face as he peered down into the gaping abyss. He quickly pulled his eyes away from the dark void and looked down at the wall udder him. His eyes instantly locked onto a strange yellow substance that was slowly oozing from a honey comb shaped tone.

Oak carefully lowered his hand down into the hole and dipped his finger into the yellow substance.

"Is this it Brook?" Oak asked as he brought his hand out from the hole.

"Yep that's exactly what we are looking for." Brook said happily, "Now then we just need to get a sample of it and bring t back to the client."

As Brook said this he reached into his bag and pulled out a small glass tube. He handed the tube to Oak and told him to try and get a small sample of honey.

Oak lowered the tube down into the hole and scratched the surface of the honey comb shaped stone and watched as a slow stream of honey began to drip form it. The stream of golden liquid slowly began to fill the tube.

Once it was full he lifted his hand out from the hole and walked back towards Brook. Just as he was about to hand the lampent the tube a small combee ascended from the hive and screamed.

"INTRUDERS IN THE HIVE!"

"Shit…" Brook muttered as he and Oak turned towards the combee.

"PLEASE RETURN THE HONEY AND LEAVE IMMEDIATELY!" The combee yelled.

By this time the combee that had been flying around the tree had stopped what they were doing and where now looking down at the intruders. All of them began muttering "Give it back and leave."

"We need this honey it's for the farmer." Oak explained.

"UNTRUE IF YOU WERE WORKING FOR HIM YOU WOULD HAVE PUT ON THE SPECIAL SCARF THAT TELLS US THAT YOU ARE WORKING FOR HIM! I WILL NOT ASK YOU AGAIN RETURN WHAT YOU STOLE AND LEAVE OR OUR ROYAL FAMILY WILL HUNT YOU DOWN!"

"HUNT YOU DOWN!" The other combee buzzed in unison.

"Look we don't mean to cause any harm… if you would just allow us to explain…"

"WHO DARES INTRUDE ON OUR HIVE!?" A loud voice called from the pit.

The combee feel silent and began to slowly back away from Oak and Brook. A very large, old beedrill slowly ascended from the pit. He glared at the duo with a look of hatred.

"WELL!" He yelled.

"Uh, yes sir we are…"

"INTRUDERS THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE! HERE TO STEAL MY HONEY BEES HARD WORK!"

"Sir, if you would allow us to explain…."

"SIR…SIR I WILL HAVE YOU KNOW I AM THE KING OF THIS HIVE AND I DEMAND MORE REPSECT YOU PETTY THIEVES!"

"Well your highness you see we need a small sample of honey to…"

"SILENCE! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE YOU BROKE THE PROMISE WE ESTABLISHED WITH THIS FARM AND FOR THAT I WILL PUNISH YOU."

The king pointed his spears towards the duo and charged. Brook and Oak quickly rolled out of the way barely avoiding the beedrill's spears. The beedrill flew into the air and charged them again. This time Brook summoned a small ring of fire and hurled it at the beedrill. The ring of fire slammed into the bee causing him to tumble to the ground.

The combee let out a collected hiss as they began to charge at the duo. Oak charged at a few of them and slammed his side into them. Brook summoned a couple of small balls of fire and hurled them at the combee.

"We need to get out of here!" Brook yelled as he launched another ball of fire at a combee.

"How there's too many of them!" Oak yelled as he slammed his head into another bee.

The air around Oak suddenly grew colder and the flame within Brook's head began to grow in size. A small ring of fire began to quickly swirl around Brook, and it slowly began it to grow in size.

"Fire Technique…FLAMING DINNER PARTY!"

Small balls of fire began to launch themselves off of the ring and towards the bees. The small balls of fire flew through the air and began raining down upon the swarm of combee. The combee began flying around frantically trying to avoid the small balls of fire. Soon the entire swarm began to shrink in size until Brook and Oak were alone.

The ring of fire slowly vanished and Brook quickly ran to Oaks side. He wrapped his arm around the snivys hand and began dragging back towards the trail head. Just as they reached the trail Oak looked back at the tree and noticed the king of the hive flying towards the top of the tree. Once he was there he pointed one of spears towards the sky and let out a loud buzz.

The kakuna that hung from the branches and the trunk began to glow with a white light. Their form began to shift and change until they resembled a beedrill. The new beedrill quickly tested their new wings before they pulled away from the tree and joined the king at the top of the tree.

"We need to run now!" Brook yelled as he ran past Fiona with Oak in tow.

"You don't need to tell me twice." Fiona muttered as she followed Brook and Oak as they dashed down the trail.

The newly swarm evolved beedrill began flying towards the trio. Fiona let out a small scream and dashed down the trail. Oak followed close behind and Brook toke the rear.

All around them the kakuna began to glow and they quickly changed into beedrill. Brook stopped for a few moments and fired a small barrage of fire balls at the advancing beedrills. The fallen beedrill's were quickly replaced by new ones and the continued to advance.

"This is not how I wanted to die!" Fiona yelled as she ran, "Brook why did you have to pick a mission involving beedrill!"

"Stop your complaining and keep running! We are almost to the edge of the forest."

Sure enough Oak could vaguely see the hole in the stone wall in front of him. Oak watched as Fiona quickened her pace and dashed towards the opening. Oak picked up his feet and dashed after her. Just as he thought he had reached the end of this nightmare the king of the hive landed right in front of them.

He thrusted out his spear and charged Oak. Oak quickly dived out of the way and quickly got into his battle stance. The beedrill flew back into the trees and dived back towards Oak. Oak jumped into the air and slammed his tail right into the beedrills head. The beedrill spiraled out of control for a moment but quickly regained his balance and charged.

As the beedrill approached he lifted his head and shot out a small silver pin form his mouth. Oak tried to roll out of the way but the small silver pin hit him and sank deep into his arm. Oak entire arm erupted with pain and the spot where the pin had landed began to turn a dark purple.

Oak let out a small cry of pain before he grabbed onto his arm. Oaks vision began to double and for some reason the entire field was starting to spin. Before he could take a single step the king of the hive slammed the side of his spear into Oaks chest. Oak skidded along the dirt path before coming to a complete stop just inches from the side of the trail. The swarm of bees let out a collected cheer before they all turned their attention to Brook and Fiona.

"BROOK LOOK OUT!" Fiona yelled as she dug her claws into the dirt and turned towards the lampent.

The lampent toke a deep breath and quickly summoned another ring of small fire balls. The lampent crossed his arms and instantly the small balls of fire erupted into giant pillars of fire. The advancing swarm quickly turned and began flying away from the giant wall of fire.

"COWARDS!" The king yelled before he charged Brook.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Fiona yelled as she ran forward and unleashed a small burst of orange pellets.

The attack landed sending the king flying over Brook and back down the trail. Brook quickly ran over to Oak and picked him up and they dashed down the trail.

"We need to get out of here…" Fiona yelled as she turned and fired another barrage of fire pellets.

"I couldn't agree with you more…" Brook said before he looked down at Oak, "First we need to get out of their sight and heal Oak…"

"How are we going to do that?"

"Grab onto my hand and on three we will jump into the brush."

Fiona quickly caught up to Brook and watched as the lampent reached out and grabbed hold of her ear.

"On three…one…two…three!"

Brook and Fiona jumped off the trail and into the brush. Just before they hit the ground Brook began to phase through the ground with Oak and Fiona in tow.

A few bone chilling, dark moments passed before the trio resurfaced into the world of light. Fiona pulled herself out of Brooks grasp and crumbled onto the grass. Brook gently lowered Oak onto the grass and then began to dig through his bag. After a bit of searching Brook pulled out a small, fuzzy, pink berry.

He quickly lowered the berry towards the snivy and shoved it into his mouth. Oak found the berry to be bland and it didn't have any kind of taste. He quickly swallowed the paste and toke a deep sigh of relief.

"Hey Brook what was th…" Oak said before he sat up and hurled.

"That my friend was a peacha berry…a special pecha berry designed to handle special kinds of poison."

"Special…kinds?" Oak said before he unleashed another river of vomit.

"Yes you see you got stung by a fully matured alpha beedrill, and it's said that their poison is twice as strong as a normal beedrill. If I hadn't given you that berry you would have suffered some major side effects that could have resulted in you kicking the bucket."

"But why…ugh…why is making me do this! THIS SUCKS!"

"That's just the body's natural reaction to this species of berry…normal berries won't do this but keep in mind that these special berries do have some consequences."

"Aright…by the way where are we…?"

"I don't really know…I think we are still in the farm…and the good news is we lost the beedrill."

"So our plan should be to locate the path, right?" Fiona said as she got to her feet.

"That's the plan now let's get moving before…"

Just before Brook could finish a large ursaring rose out from the brush and lunged at the unsuspecting lampent. The attack pashed right through him and Brook quickly summoned a small ring of fire.

The ursaring stepped out from the brush and let out a loud and terrifying roar. Brook raised his metal arms and the small balls of fire quickly began to mesh into a single large ball of fire. Just as Brook was about to lower his arms the ursaring raised his claws into the air and roared. The air around the trio began to grow cold and a strange dark purplish aura began to materialize around the ursarings claws.

With one fluid motion he swiped his dark claws across the lampents chest. Brook let out a loud cry of pain as he was sent flying through the air.

"BROOK!" Fiona and Oak cried as they quickly raced towards their fallen teacher.

"I don't get it…I thought physical attacks couldn't hurt Brook?" Oak said as he ran.

"Well they can they just don't do critical damage…except this attack was different…" Fiona said, "Look there he is!"

Sure enough they found Brook lying face first in the dirt. The flame within his glass orb was small and weak. When Oak and Fiona approached Brook let out a small painful chuckle.

"Heh…thought that stupid bear would only use physical attacks…I guess he figured it out…"

"But…how…Brook…I thought you couldn't get hurt…"

"Well physical attacks might not hurt me…but if I get hit by an attack like that then well its game over for me…"

"Just hang in there Brook we can get you a berry or…"

"No…all I need is rest… I used up a lot of my strength fighting those stupid bees and using my power to help us escape…" Book said as he slowly began to sink into the ground, "I just need you two promise me something…"

"Brook…but but we need you…"

"Don't worry you two… Just promise me that you two will run…run away from him and hide…I will find you…I…I won't let him hurt you…" Brook said before he continued to phase into the ground vanishing from view.

Oak and Fiona stood there in silence. Oak could hear the ursaring getting closer…

" _What should we do…?"_ Oak thought to himself _, "If we run we can probably get away, but he might still chase us and we might run into the beedrill again…"_

Oak looked down at where Brook had vanished. He then looked at Fiona who had streams of tear rolling down her face. Then he looked down at his hand and slowly flexed his fingers.

" _Or…"_ Oak thought as he balled his fist, _"We can fight…_

Oak turned towards the sound of the approaching pokemon and got into a battle stance. The ursaring let out a loud roar before it focused its eyes on the two small pokemon before it.

"FIONA!" Oak yelled.

"Yes Oak."

"WE ARE NOT GOING TO RUN AWAY…WE ARE GOING TO FIGHT!"

"BUT OAK YOU SAW WHAT HAPPENED TO BROOK. IF HE CAN DO THAT THEN JUST IMAGINE THE DAMGE HE CAN DO TO US!" Fiona screamed.

"I KNOW… BUT WE CANT ALWAYS RUN…BROOK WONT ALWAYS BE THERE TO RPOTECT US…I KNOW IT SOUNDS RECKLESS BUT THIS IS OUR CHANCE TO PROVE THAT WE CAN DO ANYHTING!"

Fiona looked at Oak in amazement and disbelief. Almost a week ago this snivy knew nothing about this world. Now here he was glaring at death in the face, but he showed no sign of fear or regret. In his eyes she could see the same fire that she saw the day he promised to protect her from her nightmares. A fire that burned with the power to accomplish the impossible and to see the unimaginable.

Fiona nodded her head and got into a battle stance. Oak was right this was their time to prove to themselves that they were capable of being a team.

Oak raised his hand and pointed to the ursaring, and with a determined glare he shouted.

"I AM OAK THE LEADER OF TEAM NEW LEAF AND WE…WILL…FIGHT YOU…THIS IS TO PROVE THAT WE ARE NOT WEAK. BECAUSE TOGETHER… WE… ARE… STORNG!"

Oak and Fiona lunged forward and prepared to take on the ursaring together.

Author Corner:

Hey guys Shifu18 here with some news. So first I would like to apologize for the wait. I had a lot on my plate these passed couple weeks and it was hard to find time to type. Second, I will sadly be in school this summer and my schedule is pretty packed. BUT don't be afraid my friends for I will hopefully find time to type and get another chapter out during that time!

That's all I have to say for now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you are eager to see what happens next. Don't forget to leave a comment and I hope you all have a great summer.

Happy reading!


	10. Chapter 9: The Strong and the Determined

Chapter 9

The Strong and the Determined

The ursaring let out a loud roar as he swiped his claws at the approaching pokemon. Oak quickly moved out of the way and Fiona jumped up into the air. She then opened her mouth and unleashed a barrage of small orange pellets that slammed into the ursaring's chest. He let out a growl of annoyance before he swiped his claws at Fiona again. The fenekin quickly landed and fired another barrage of orange bullets.

Oak quickly ran behind and launched himself at the unsuspecting bear. His side slammed into the ursaring's back causing it to let out another annoyed growl. The ursaring turned and glared at Oak before it swiped at him with his claws.

 _"_ _We can't keep this up forever…"_ Oak thought to himself as rushed forward and slammed his tail into the ursarings side. _"Eventually we're going to get tired and when that happens its game over."_

The ursaring suddenly charged forward and slammed its fist into Oak's chest. The snivy was sent flying until he slammed into a nearby tree. Oak struggled to his feet and began slowly walking back towards the fight.

Oak watched as Fiona quickly dodged each of the ursaring's attacks and continued firing her attack. The ursaring lifted his claws into the air and then slammed into the soft dirt. He began shoveling dirt out of the way until his claws hit something solid. The ursaring let out a loud feral roar as he slowly began to lift a somewhat large boulder from the hole.

The ursaring hoisted the boulder over his head and then turned towards Fiona. He let another roar before he slammed the boulder onto the ground just inches from Fiona's face. The ursaring grunted as he slowly lifted the boulder off the ground and lifted it above his head again. Fiona quickly jumped back barely avoiding the boulder. She then opened her mouth and released a large, black plume of smoke that slowly began to spread out allowing Fiona to find cover.

The ursaring roared and began clawing at the clouds of smoke hoping to catch his prey. Fiona gracefully dogged his swipes and began running towards the bears legs. Once she was in range she opened her mouth and fired another round of fire bullets.

The ursaring let out a grunt before he kneeled down and began swiping the smoke around his legs in hopes of catching his annoying prey. Oak, using the opportunity, ran forward and slammed his side into the ursaring's back. The bear quickly lost his balance and quickly collapsed chest first onto the ground.

"We did it Oak!" Fiona cried happily as she emerged from the smoke. "We beat him!"

"Yeah…we did beat him…" Oak said.

"Wait until we tell Brook and everyone else at the guild they will be so…"

The ursaring's hand shot out and quickly grabbed onto Fiona. Oak watched in horror as the ursaring slowly got to his feet. He lifted Fiona into the air and let out a triumphant roar before he turned his attention to Oak.

The ursaring lunged forward and swiped at Oak with his free hand. Oak barely dogged the attack and the tips of the ursaring's claws grazed his stomach. Oak tried to see the damage, but just as he was about to look the ursaring swung at him again knocking him off his feet and hurtling towards the remains of the boulder.

Oak skidded along the ground until his head slammed into the boulder. His vision began to double and Fiona's screams for help began to become muffled. Oak tried to get to his feet, but his legs gave out and he toppled onto the ground.

"I…I failed…" Oak muttered to himself as he tried to push himself back onto his feet. "I failed to protect her…"

He braced himself against the fragments of the boulder and slowly got to his feet. He turned his attention to the ursaring and watched in horror as the ursaring lifted the limp figure of Fiona into the air like a trophy. Tears began to flow form Oaks eyes as he watched the ursaring parade around the clearing in triumph.

"No…no…no... this can't be real…" Oak muttered. "NO…you can't be…Fiona!"

The ursaring quickly turned towards Oak and growled. He gently placed Fiona onto the ground and rushed towards Oak. In that moment Oak suddenly felt a surge of energy flow through his body. His pain and exhaustion quickly disappeared and a new found energy coursed through him.

Oaks vines quickly sprouted form his collar and braced themselves against the ground. Just before the ursaring could swipe at him Oak used his vines to propel him into the air and over the large bear. Once he was over the bears back he retracted his vines and slammed his side into the bears back. The bear let out a loud grunt of pain before he fell face first into the dirt.

Oak landed on his feet and charged at the bear again. His vines extended from his collar and quickly wrapped themselves around a piece of the boulder. With every ounce of strength Oak commanded his vines to lift the chunk of rock off the ground. His vines stuttered for a minute but they slowly began to lift the chunk of rock.

The ursaring was now starting to recover from the sudden attack and was now glaring at Oak with a look of pure hatred. He raised his claws into the air and roared. His claws began to glow with the strange dark energy and then he charged forward. Oak jumped a few feet and commanded his vines to thrust the boulder out towards the bear.

"SECRET ATTACK…VINE HAMMER!" Oak yelled as the boulder flew forward and slammed right into the ursaring's face.

The boulder crumbled to pieces and the ursaring let out a loud howl of pain before he toppled onto his back. Oak quickly retracted his vines and sprinted towards Fiona

"Please be alive please be alive" Oak muttered as he got closer to the motionless fenekin.

He gently placed his hand against the fenekin's neck and waited. He breathed a sigh of relief because he could feel a somewhat strong pulse.

"She's alive…" Oak happily muttered as be bent down and hugged the fenekin. "We just need to get out of here and get some…"

"ROAR!" The ursaring screamed as he slowly got his feet.

Oak quickly turned towards the ursaring and got back into his battle stance. He toke a shaky step forward and then crumbled onto the ground. All of his strength and energy he had a moment ago was gone. He tried to get to his feet but his arms quickly gave out and he slumped back onto the ground.

He watched in defeat as the ursaring began to slowly walk towards them. The ursaring let out another loud roar as he lifted his claws into the air and quickly summoned the strange dark energy. The ursaring then lifted his foot and placed it against Oaks head. he then leveled his claws with Oaks neck and lifted his claws into the air.

 _"_ _This is it…I'm going to die…"_ Oak thought to himself _. "I'm sorry Brook that I didn't listen to you…I'm sorry everyone…but most importantly I'm sorry Fiona I…I couldn't protect you…like…like I promised."_

The ursaring swung and Oak closed his eyes.

"HEADS UP!" A deep, gravelly, voice called from behind Oak.

Oak quickly opened his eyes just in time to see a very large, round boulder slam right into the ursaring's chest. The ursaring was sent flying across the clearing and into a group of trees.

"You two alright?" The boulder asked.

"Yeah we're fine…but I didn't know that there were talking boulders in this world?" Oak said.

"Boulder…Oh, right hang on…" The boulder said before a pair of arms, legs and a triangular head extended out of the boulder.

The ursaring slowly got to his feet and charged at the unsuspecting golem. His claws bounced harmlessly off the golem's rock hard shell.

"I thought I told you that I didn't want to see your face here anymore!" The golem yelled as he slammed his fist into the ursaring's chest. "This is the fourth time this week you attack. First you attack the hive, then you attack the queen, then you attacked my employees, and now you're hurting these poor kids!"

"ROAR!" The ursaring yelled as he slashed at the golems shell again.

The golem grunted and slammed his fist into the ursaring's chest again. The ursaring clutched his stomach as he quickly turned and began his slow, painful retreat. The golem pulled his appendages into his shell and began slowly spinning the giant boulder. The boulder lurched forward and quickly gained speed.

"Now get…off…my…PROPERTY!" The golem yelled as the boulder slammed into the ursaring sending it flying across the field and into a thick patch of foliage.

The ursaring slowly got to his feet and quickly ran deeper into the forest. Once he had vanished from sight the golem rolled back over to Oak and Fiona. He pushed out his appendages and smiled down at the duo.

"I have to say little guy you put on quit the show. I guess that kind of strength is common when you use your overgrowth ability."

"Overgrowth?"

"Basically when you are running low on energy or when you get close to passing out your body gives itself a small boost. Increasing your strength, reflexes, and speed. But if you sit down or take a rest your body thinks that the threat is gone so you lose all of that energy."

"I guess that makes sense…"

"Anyway, I was told by one of my employees that a team from the neighboring town had gone into the forest to get a sample. Of course, when I asked him if he gave you the special scarves he of course said no." The golem said. "I swear that little bastard is lucky I have a soft heart or else I would have kicked him off my property faster than you can say tauros shit."

"Tauros shit?"

"Anyway, the main thing is that you two are alright…" The golem said before he noticed Fiona. "Or I hope so."

Oak quickly turned back to Fiona and gently rested his hands on her side.

"Fiona…please wake up…"

"Is he gone?" Fiona whispered as she slowly opened her eyes and looked around.

"Yes, he's gone…are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm alright. He may have nicked my side, but overall I don't have anything serious…By that way Oak what did you think of my acting?"

"Acti…acting…"

"Yeah after he hit me I played dead…I was hoping that I could run away after he put me down, but I wanted to make sure th…"

"YOU WERE FAKING IT!"

"Yeah, how else was I going to survive?!"

"I was worried about you…I thought you were dead!"

"Me…dead?"

"YES!"

"Well I'm alive…tada."

"Not funny."

"Well I take it you two are well enough to walk." The golem said stepping in between the two. "Let's get moving."

The golem led Oak and Fiona out of the clearing and back onto the main trail. A few moments passed before Oak began to see the outline of the stone fence. They passed through the opening in the wall and towards the wooden two story house.

"BOY GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE NOW!" The golem yelled.

The front door of the wooden house slowly opened and the scraggy the group had met earlier slowly poked his head out from the door way.

"Boss…I didn't…know…I'm sorry…I…" The scraggy stammered as he tried to slowly bring his head back into the house.

"YOU KNOW THE RULES YOU LITTLE SON OF A BITCH! YOU KNOW THE RULES OF MY FARM! YOU SENT THESE TWO ON A SUICIDE MISSION!"

"I uh…well…you see…"

"YOU'RE LUCKY THAT THESE TWO ARE STILL ALIEVE!"

"Yeah…I'm sorry boss I really am…I should have remembered to give them the scarves…but I forgot…" The scraggy said as he got to his knees. "I am sorry please forgive me!"

The golem sighed before he began walking towards the house. As he passed he gently patted the scraggy on the head and continued walking into the house. A few moments passed before he reemerged form the house carrying two burlap sacks. One was small and the contents within it clinked together. The other bag was somewhat larger and from what Oak could see the contents were circular.

"I would like you to take these two bags as an apology for what happened today. The small one contains about 500 gold and the large one contains two jars of our farms prized honey." The golem said as he placed the bags down in front of Oak and Fiona.

"We can't take this…" Fiona said. "Besides we didn't complete the mission."

"It doesn't matter, I want you two to take this again as an apology." The golem said. "And I hope you two do accept any jobs for us in the future. It would be a pleasure to see you two again. Besides it wasn't even a mission it was a chore that he…"

"Actually sir we did complete the mission." Oak said as he dug through Brooks' bag and pulled out the honey sample. "We got the sample."

The golem carefully toke the sample form Oak and held it up in the midafternoon light. He smiled and nodded his head in approval.

"I have to say this quit the sample." The golem said before he turned towards the scraggy. "You know what this means right?"

"I'm off the hook?"

"NO, NOT FAR FORM IT! This sample is clear which means that we might get a good haul this year. Which means that I will be able to get a lot of my staff back for the harvest! Plus you get to go out and get some as well."

"Oh…joy…"

"I guess you two deserve a better reward."

"It's not needed we will gladly take what you already offered us." Oak said.

"But I insist."

"This reward is fine, thank you."

"Alright…By the way what is your team name? I try to keep an inventory on all the teams who come here, that way if I ever need more help I know who to call."

"We're Team New Leaf." Oak said as he extended his hand out towards the golem.

"Finally someone picks something that isn't space related. Well Team New Leaf my name is Geo." Geo said as he toke Oaks hand and gave it a firm shake. "I hope to work with you two again someday."

"Same here Geo." Oak said.

Oak and Fiona said their good byes to Geo and the scraggy and began walking back towards the small farm town. Once they had reached the center of the town they found a familiar lampent waiting for them.

"BROOK!" Fiona yelled excitedly. "You're alright!"

"Yes, I'm fine…" Brook said in a very stern tone. "What about you two? You look like you had quit the fight."

"Yeah about that Brook…"

Brooks slapped his metal arm against Oaks face stopping him mid-sentence. He let out a small cry of pain before he lifted his hand and touched his new bruise. Brook did the same to Fiona and the fenekin let out a cry of pain before she shot the lampent an angry glare.

"What the heck Brook what was that for!" Fiona yelled.

"YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHY!" The lampent yelled. "YOU TWO IGNORED MY ORDERS TO RUN AND INSTEAD YOU DECIDED TO FIGHT IT."

"But…"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY OAK? YOU SAID YOU WANTED TO PROVE SOEMTHING! PROVE WHAT THAT YOU TWO ARE WILLING TO THROW YOUR LIVES AWAY!"

"…"

"I was using this mission to test you to see if you needed any training…and let me say you two failed it!"

Oak and Fiona looked at the ground in shame.

"First, Fiona you let your fear get the best of you and you abandoned your leader. Second, you two engaged in a fight you knew perfectly well you would lose."

"But…"

"I wasn't counting on the bees or the ursaring attack… Regardless you two failed my test…and you think you are cut out to be an exploration team." Brook spat.

"That's our dream Brook." Fiona said with confidence. "We thought maybe if we beat the ursaring we could prove to ourselves that we are ready."

"That's not being part of the organization…that's just plain stupidity. Prove yourselves, yeah proving that you two are willing to throw your lives away like it's a rotten piece of food."

"Brook, if you need someone to blame, blame me." Oak said. "I convinced Fiona to attack so if you should be scolding someone you should be scolding me not her…"

"It doesn't matter who gave the command…you two should have used logic…"

Oak decided to stay quiet.

"Well when we get back to the guild I will have to tell the guild master about today…"

"What, no, why would you do that!"

"Because, I told him about this mission and he wanted to know the results so he could watch your progress. But, it's obvious that this was a total disaster…so when we get back I want you two to do all the talking."

Once the trio arrived back at the guild the sun was starting to sink lower over the horizon. They entered through the back of the tree and ascended the stairs all the way up to the level that held the guild master's chamber. Just as they reached the large wooden doors Broom raised his hand signaling for them to wait. He quickly phased through the door without a word.

Oak and Fiona waited patiently for the doors to open of fro Brook to come out to talk to them.

"I hope he just comes out and tells us what the guild master thinks." Fiona said. "I don't want to have to face the guild master…."

"Well whatever happens I will take the blame for engaging the fight."

"No, were both in this situation together which means if you get in trouble then I get in trouble."

"But Fiona…"

"No, Oak don't say anything I already made up my mind and I'm sticking to it."

"But I said we were going to fight…"

"Doesn't matter were in this together now and forever, got it?"

"…fine."

The wooden door slowly creaked open and Luna stepped out into the room.

"The guild master will see you now…" Luna said calmly.

"WHAT IN THE HELL WERE YOU TWO THINKING!" Luna screamed. "YOUR FIRST MISSION, A SIMPLE RETREVIAL MISISON, TURNED INTO A SUICIDE MISSION! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO?"

The braziers that sat against along the far walls of the room were bright and blazing. The room was fully illuminated allowing full visibility. Through the back window Oak could see that the sun had finally set and a small cluster of stars were starting to come into view. Below the window sat the guild master who was patiently waiting for Luna to calm down.

"Luna I will take full responsibility for the attack…" Oak began but he was silenced by the clefairie's venomous glare.

"I don't care who takes responsibility! That kind of behavior is strictly forbidden unless necessary." Luna said. "Guild master what do you have to say about this behavior!"

The venasaur remained silent.

"Uh guild master…sir?"

"Luna are you done venting…" The venasaur asked calmly.

"Uh yes sir…I'm done…"

"Then why don't we let these two tell us their part of the story. Brook gave us a very detailed account about what he saw while he was recovering, but remember that every stone has two different sides that tell a different story. So, speak you two."

Oak quickly told the guild master everything. He told him about the fight and why they decided to fight. He told him about how the sudden urge to fight and how that by defeating the bear they could boost their confidence. Once he finished his story he looked at the guild master and waited for his response.

"So you thought that by defeating this beast you would boost your confidence?" The guild master asked.

"I mean…I don't know why I suddenly wanted to fight…It just didn't feel right to run away…"

A large smile appeared on the guild masters face and he began laughing.

"BWHAHAH, you newbies always do this…Whenever something big appears newbies immediately want to fight it." The venasaur laughed. "They all have the same reason because they want to prove that they are strong."

"They do?" Fiona asked.

"Of course they think that by battling something big they will have something to boast about like a lot of the top teams around the world. But it always ends with them failing miserably…and that is fine."

"How is that fine?"

"A stream does not become a powerful river overnight. It must start out small and weak but as time passes it can slowly grow in size until it eventually becomes big enough to hold more water. Soon the stream turns into a creak and then into a small river eventually it will become a powerful river capable of shaping the world around it." The guild master said.

The room was silent and all that could be heard was the soft crackling of the flames that sat within the braziers. The guild master toke in a deep breath and slowly began to advance towards Oak and Fiona.

"I hope you did learn from this mistake and are determined not to allow this to happen again. I am glad that you are both safe and alive, to me that is all that matters."

"Guild master…" Oak said. "We promise that we will never do anything like that again."

"Yeah, we promise!" Fiona added.

"Good…though I highly doubt you will keep it…" The guild master chuckled. "Now, onto more important matters."

"More important matters?" Oak and Fiona said in unison.

"Yes, your punishment of course!" The guild master said.

"But… but we said we wouldn't do it again!" Fiona moaned.

"Yes, I know but this kind of behavior cannot be excused." The venasuar said as he turned and made his way back towards his rug. "As of tonight you two will be officially put on probation for two weeks."

"Probation?" Oak said puzzled.

"TWO WEEKS!" Fiona moaned. "But I was taught that probation only lasted a week!"

"Brook requested that it be more than one because he wishes to use the time to train you two."

"But I don't need training!" Fiona groaned. "I already know the basics for my attacks and training is boring."

"You may the basics, but Oak apparently doesn't." Luna said as she pointed towards Oak. "He apparently can only control his attacks during his overgrowth rush and that is not a very safe or logical way of fighting.

"But…I was able to lift a rock and smash it against his face." Oak said.

"That's not an ideal way of dealing with problems and furthermore…!"

The guild master slammed his foot against the floor silencing the clefairy. The guild master took a deep breath and sighed.

"In conclusion, as of tonight you two must leave my guild and not return for two weeks. You are not allowed to take on any missions, request, or outlaw capture missions during your probation. If I see you in or near the guild I will extend your probation by a month or I will expel you from the guild." Just as the guild master finished speaking he lifted his front leg into the air and slammed it onto the wooden floor.

"This sucks…" Fiona grumbled as the trio walked away from the guild. "I finally get to live my dream of being a team and one mess up gets us kicked out."

"No need to be hot headed." Brook chuckled.

"Now's not the time for jokes Brook!"

"I know, I know you are pissed off about being kicked out for two weeks. But look at the bright side you get to train and improve your fighting skills."

"That's not bright…"

"Well I'm excited to train…" Oak said.

"See Fiona, Oak is calm and relaxed you should really look up to him he can be a great example."

"But Oak hasn't even go through the kind of training I have."

"And what training would that be young lady?"

"The training at the academy." Fiona muttered.

"Ah I see well let's just say the training I have lined up for you two will be more…beneficial. The academy may have taught you the basics but these guys will take it to the next level.

"What do you mean by that?" Oak asked

"Oh you will see Oak…you will see.

The trio continued walking down the hill and eventually reached the center of the town. They walked through the somewhat silent business district and then began walking east. Brook showed no signs of slowing down whenever they came close to an inn and he made no comments when Oak mentioned that they were passing them.

Eventually the business district began to melt away and was replaced by somewhat smaller buildings that served as homes for the residents of the town. The streets were dead silent and all Oak could hear was the sound of his and Fiona's footsteps against the worn, cobble road.

They continued walking until they eventually reached a pair of stone pillars that marked the edge of the town. Beyond them was a large open field that stretched out before them. In the far distance Oak could see a large hill that protruded up from the field and on top of the hill appeared to be a somewhat large building.

Brook raised his metal hand and pointed towards the building. The flame within his head grew in size signaling that he was getting excited.

"There it is my students!" Brook proclaimed proudly. "That building is home to some of the best teachers on this continent. It will also be your home for the next two weeks."

"Brook…can we go back and find an inn…" Fiona said before she let out a loud yawn. "I mean we've had a long day and I think it would be nice for us to get some sleep.

"Sorry to say this sleepy head, but you won't get any sleep until we reach that building."

"And how long will that take…" Oak yawned.

"Depends on how fast we walk." Brook said. "Now enough talk it's time to walk the walk!"

Oak found the walk miserable and he was tempted to just fall asleep right there on the trail. He looked up to the sky and noticed that the moon was now almost in the center of the sky meaning that it was getting close to midnight. His eye lids were starting grow heavy and his legs seemed to grow heavier.

"Were almost there you two, just try to stay awake for a little longer." Brook said snapping Oak out of his trance.

"Brook…why are we walking at night…why can't we wait until morning…" Fiona said as she tried to keep her eyes open.

"This is actually part of their test. You see we could go in the day but by then the instructors I want you two to meet would have already started their instruction for the day. So the best time to go and get a teacher is at night."

"That doesn't make any since!" Fiona moaned. "Besides we've bene walking forever, and I want to go to bed!"

"First off, we've been walking for fifteen minutes. Second, it makes perfect sense."

Fiona just sighed and the three of them continued walking. After another fifteen minutes of walking the group finally reached the base of the hill. They began their slow ascent until they eventually reached the building that sat on the top of the hill.

The building itself wasn't anything impressive it was made out of wood and it had a shingled roof. Two large wooden fences jutted out form the sides of the building and seemed to extend to the edges of the hill before they curved and continued towards the back.

Brook gently placed his metal hand on the door and pushed it open. Beyond the door was a square room that was mostly empty and was being illuminated by a strange metal chandelier that hung from the ceiling. Just parallel to the entrance was another door that lead to the other side of the fence.

Brook stepped aside and motioned for them to enter. Oka and Fiona stepped passed the lampent and into the room and once all three of them were inside the door they entered through began to slowly close.

"So did we pass their test?" Oak asked.

"Oh, the test is about to start my boy…just stay focused and be honest."

"What in the name of Arceus is that supposed to mean!"

The door in the back of the room slowly opened and a zoroark walked into the room. It looked towards the trio and made a sound of utter annoyance. The zoroark closed the door behind it and walked towards the center of the room. Once there it looked down at the trio with a stern, unforgiving gaze.

"So, you three think you can just walk in here and think that we will teach you." The zoroark said a stern, feminine voice. "If you can get passed me and touch the door within five minutes, I will allow you to enter this dojo."

"And if we fail?" Fiona said nervously.

"Then, I will personally throw each of you off this hill and if you dare t ever come close to this dojo again, I will cut you to ribbons! We don't train the weak we train those who are determined to improve and are willing to do anything to obtain that privilege."

"Well Fiona looks like we have to fight … again…" Oak said as he prepared himself.

"Yeah…but this time she isn't going to maul us…"

"Who said I wasn't going to go all out." The zoroark said as she sprung forward and swiped her claws at the duo.


	11. Chapter 10: Oaks Training

**Chapter 10**

Oaks Training

Just as the zoroark lunged forward Oak and Fiona jumped out of the way and landed face first onto the wooden floor. The zoroark looked at the duo and then looked at Brook with a look of concern.

"Brook…why are these kids exhausted?" The zrorark asked.

"Well they have had a pretty rough day…"

"How rough Brook." The zoroark said as she leaned towards him.

"Let's just say they might have fought a juvenile ursaring…"

"BROOK!"

"And they didn't really get any time to relax before they were kicked out…"

"Unbelievable..." The zoroark said as she slapped her hand onto snout. "You let these kids fight an ursaring…and you didn't even give them time to relax. You would make a terrible father Brook."

"Lizzy, ghost types can't have children…"

"Doesn't matter you stupid floating flashlight!"

"Hey hey hey no need for insults. Look I told them to run away from it…but they disobeyed me…"

Lizzy just placed her hand on her snout again and shook her head in disproval.

"Well I might as well let you three in so you can at least get a good night's rest." Lizzy said as she lifted Oak and Fiona off the floor and onto her shoulders.

Lizzy walked back towards the back door and kicked it open. Brook followed close behind as he followed her into the courtyard that sat in the middle of the training facility. They continued walking until they reached a bigger wooden building that was lined with paper screen doors. Brook grabbed onto the side of the screen and pulled it open for Lizzy.

"So…what do you think Lizzy? Do you think that they will train them?" Brook asked as he elevated himself to Lizzie's eye level.

"Well lucky for this little guy his teacher just lost two students." Lizzy said. "They argued that his training was unfair and dangerous."

"Of course they did. I just hope Oak doesn't want to quit after a day of his training."

"Ha, don't worry about him Brook I think this little green guy is going to just fine."

"Let's hope…"

Oak slowly opened his eyes and found himself on a small pile of hay in a small room. A small iron lantern hung from the ceiling and it swung gently as a calm breeze floated in through the window that sat on the far wall. Through it Oak could clearly see a small gleam of the early sun as it slowly began to rise from the hills.

"Well it's good to see you awake, sapling." A gruff voice huffed.

Oak turned to the source of the voice and found a chestnaught sitting in the doorway to his room. His arms were covered in scars and small eye patch covered his right eye. In his mouth he held a small wooden pipe that moved each time he twitched his lip.

"Well, now that you're awake I guess it's time we got started."

"Get started on what?" Oak said as he rubbed the sleep form his eyes.

"Your training sapling…the lamp said that you needed training, and that's what I am going to do!" He said as he slowly got to his feet. "Now get out of bed and follow me."

Oak nodded, jumped off his pile of hay, and followed the chestnaught. They walked down a long hallway which was lined with a row of paper screen doors on both sides. They walked until they came to a large screen door with a large leaf pattern printed in its center. The chestnaught threw open the door revealing a fairly large yard surrounded by tall, wooden walls.

"Alright sapling before we begin I would like to lay down some ground rules." The chestnaught said before he puffed out a small cloud of smoke. "Rule one you are to show me and the other instructors respect."

"Yes sir!"

"Rule two you are to follow ever thing I say. If you don't then I will make the next training day much harder. Finally, you are to be positive in everything you do." He said as he lowered himself to Oaks level and gazed into his eyes. "Do I make myself clear, Sapling?"

"Yes sir…I understand sir."

"Alright then...from now on you will call me master Gingko, and you will be called sapling until your training is complete."

"But sir my name is…"

"Is that a problem Sapling?" Master Gingko asked in a stern tone.

"No…no sir…"

"Good, now we can begin your first bit of training." The master said as he walked over to a small shed that sat in the far corner of the yard.

He threw open the door and reached into the shed. He pulled out a small wooden bucket and placed it in front of Oak. Oak looked at the bucket in confusion and then looked at master Gingko with the same look. The chestnaught smiled at the snivys confusion and let out a small laugh.

"I can't start the day without my morning cup of tea. So your task is to carry this bucket over to well in the center of the facility and get some water from it."

"Sounds easy enough." Oak said with confidence.

"Then pick it up and get going."

Oak wrapped his fingers around the buckets handle and tried to lift the bucket. The bucket didn't budge and Oak tried again this time with both of his hands, but the bucket still didn't budge.

"It's too heavy." Oak moaned.

"Aye…so try something else. Maybe use your vines they can lift objects twice your size."

Oak nodded and willed his vines to extend form his collar. His vines shot of his collar and began whipping around violently. Gingko just nodded his head and quickly reached out and grabbed onto Oaks vines. He gently squeezed them causing Oak to let out a small cry of pain.

"So the lamp was right…" Master Gingko said exhaling a small plume of smoke. "You really don't have control…Sapling who trained you?"

"Uh, no one trained me sir…"

"Didn't your parents teach you any control?"

Oak slowly shook his head and the chestnaught sighed.

"Then we have a lot of work to do if I am going to make you gain control…" He said calmly. "The first thing you need to do is relax…your stressed and that makes you lose control."

"I…I don't why I'm stressed…I mean…"

"Just be quiet…look, all you need to do is focus…focus on the task I asked you to do." The master said as he pointed to the bucket. "Don't focus on trying to impress me focus on the task at hand."

Oak toke in a deep breath and slowly nodded his head. Master Gingko released Oaks vines and allowed them to wave around wildly. Oak slowly closed his eyes and began to focus. He thought about the bucket and the task that his master had told him to perform. He thought about lifting the bucket over his head and proudly showing off his control.

" _Focus…"_ Gingko's voice echoed in Oaks mind.

Oak felt his vines slowly begin to stop moving and the he felt them slowly move forward. He opened his eyes and was amazed to see his vines outstretched in front of him. He took a deep breath and willed them to grab onto the bucket. His vines shuttered for a second before they crawled forward and wrapped themselves around the handle.

He then imagined himself lifting the bucket into the air. His vines obeyed and they slowly began to arch up towards the morning sky. The bucket slowly began to rise off the ground until it was a foot off the ground. He smiled at the sight and commanded them to raise it even higher. His vines slowly began to rise but they suddenly stopped and began shaking violently.

"Now that you've got that under control I think you can now perform my task…Oh, and you now only have forty minutes to do it…" Gingko said before a large smile spread across his lips.

"But…"

"NO BUTS GET MOVING!"

Oak quickly ran back into long hall and ran down it until he can to another door. He quickly pulled it open and dashed out into the common area of the facility. He found the well and lowered the bucket into the water. The bucket was now a lot heavier and Oak struggled to pull it out of the water. Slowly but surely he lifted it out and quickly ran back to the hall.

He dashed through the open door and ran down the hall. Master Gingko had come in from the courtyard and was entering his room which was just a door away from Oaks room. Oak quickly dashed into the room and placed the bucket of water in front of his teacher, who was starting to light a small fire pit in the center of his room.

Gingko looked down at the bucket and then looked up at the exhausted snivy. He then looked behind the snivy and let out an annoyed grunt.

"You made a mess Sapling!" The chestnaught sighed.

Oak followed his gaze and found a trail of water leading back into the hallway.

"I'm sorry sir…it won't happen again sir…I"

"Why are you apologizing? You just gave yourself more stuff to do." Gingko laughed as he got to his feet and walked over to a small closet on the far back wall.

He swung open the door and pulled out a large mop. He smiled as he handed Oak the mop and pointed out towards the hall.

"Your task is to now mop up your mess, and while you're in the cleaning mood you might as well grab the broom when you're done. You can sweep my room, your room, and the hall space between them. "

Oak just sighed and tried to lift the mop, but it was heavy just like the bucket. He let out an annoyed grunt, extended his vines, and wrapped them around the mops handle. He slowly walked out into the hall and began mopping up the puddles of water.

"This is going to be a long day…" Oak muttered as he carefully mopped up the puddle.

After Oak had finished mopping the hall master Gingko ordered him to sweep their rooms. Then once that was done he followed Gingko back out into his yard. The sun was almost in the center of the sky and Oak's stomach let out a small growl.

"Now your next task is very easy." Gingko said.

"Let me guess more cleaning?" Oak muttered.

"No…this is something a bit more challenging then sweeping." Gingko said before a sly smile spread across his lip.

The ground suddenly began to shake and Oak toppled onto the ground. A large boulder suddenly flew over the walls and landed just inches away from Oaks face. More and more boulders of different sizes flew over the wall.

"Right on schedule." Gingko said as he watched Oak dodge the boulders.

Once the ground had stopped shaking Oak slowly collected himself and glared at the smiling chestnaught. Gingko ignored the snivys gaze and removed his pipe form his mouth.

"Well I have to say Slade you and your students really made a mess of my garden…" The chestnut joked. "I wonder if I can find someone to clean up my garden."

"I know I know…." Oak grumbled as he summoned his vines and began to lifting small boulders back over the wall.

Gingko smiled and walked back into the building.

"You have until two to get rid of all of the rocks." Gingko said. "I need to water my bonsai collection and the boulders are blocking them. So chop chop!"

Oak grudgingly lifted the boulders and rocks back over the fence and back into master Slade's training ground. At one point master Gingko came out and watched the snivy work. Oak tried to ignore him but every now and then the chestnut would blurt out random insults.

"You know I've seen budews lift boulders twice that size and their considered babies compared to you."

Oak ignored him and hoisted a large boulder back over the wall.

"You know, I once knew a skitty who could break boulders with her tail. Can you do that sapling?"

Oak gritted his teeth and hoisted another boulder over the wall.

"You know snivys are sometimes viewed as smart asses…they think they know everything. Maybe I should call you smartass and see if that triggers your snivy ego? What do you think sapling do you think smartass is a better name?"

This teasing went on and on until Oak lifted the final boulder up over the wall. He collapsed onto the grass and slowly whipped the sweat off of his forehead. Even though his vines did most of the work Oak was still exhausted. His entire collar and back area were starting to get soar.

"My my, I have to say you make an excellent gardener." Gingko joked. "Now are you ready for your next hour of training?"

"No…if it involves cleaning or lifting then no!" Oak groaned as he slowly got to his feet.

The chestnaught just shook his head and slowly lowered himself onto the grass. He crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and toke in a deep breath.

"The next part of your training is meditation. You must strengthen both your body and your mind if you are to become stronger sapling."

Oak slowly lowered himself onto the grass and positioned himself like master Gingko. He closed his eyes and remained perfectly still. Time seemed to slow down and the outside world seemed to fade. Hs worries melted away and his mind began to become clear.

Oak was at piece and nothing could break him from that.

"Sapling…SAPLING!" Master Gingko yelled pulling Oak out from his trance.

Oak opened his eyes and looked up at his master. The late afternoon light shined on his face and the brilliant colors mixed with the smoke that rose from his pipe.

"What time is it?" Oak asked.

"It's around five." Gingko said. "You meditated right through lunch and I didn't want to disturb you."

"So…is that it…are we done for today?" Oak asked hoping the chestnaught would say yes.

Master Gingko smiled and blew out a small cloud of smoke from his nose. He looked up at the late afternoon sky and sighed.

"Yes, but before we call it a day I want to ask you to one more thing."

"What's that?"

The chestnut slowly lowered himself down onto the ground and smiled. He gently lowered his hand into the ground and pulled up a small clump of soil. He gently placed his other hand over the soil.

"Tell me, do you want to get stronger?" Gingko said as he shifted his hands.

"Well…yes…" Oak said a little puzzled.

"And why?"

Oak sat there for a few moments and tried to think of a reason. If he was stronger he could protect his friends. He could take on any challenge and accomplish it without error. He could even one day become legendary or even famous. But for some reason they didn't really sit well.

He did want to protect his friends; but at what level? Would be fighting a physical enemy that could bring them to near death, or could they be fighting something that was mental? Would be willing to throw his life away like he did before or would he hang back and let things unfold?

Oak looked up at his teacher and found the chestnaught silently humming to himself. His eyes were closed and he was slowly moving his hands in way that seemed like he was molding the soil clump into a ball.

"I fight to protect my friends." Oak confidently said.

"So you want to protect your friends, from what?"

"I don't know, but whatever it is I will fight to make sure they are safe."

The chestnaught looked at Oak and slowly nodded his head. He then returned his attention to his hands.

"A mighty pine will fight the wind to remain standing…a strong willow with grasp onto the river bank to remain tall… a mighty Oak will stand tall to proclaim its strength…however even they can falter to their own desires…"

"What do you mean by that?"

"With growing power comes the urge to show it…to seek even more power…and eventually the loss of their true purpose of why they wish to gain power." A silent wind blew across the yard and the chestnaught sighed. "You must never forget that reason Oak…without it you will tread down a path that will show you nothing…nothing but selfish desirers…"

Oak remained silent and waited for his master to continue speaking.

"If you have a purpose to fight and improve then you will prosper… like a small sapling grows into a strong tree you too will develop power only you can imagine." Master Gingko opened his hands and revealed a small green sapling.

"Like the proud Oak you will be strong, like the clever willow you will always have a grasp on your objective, and like the determined pine you will find a way to accomplish any challenge…but it all begins as a small sapling that dreams of that power."

Oak was silent as he gazed at the sapling in amazement. A sudden wind blew against the sapling, but it remained standing. He continued to gaze at it until Gingko gently placed back into the hole.

Oak slowly lowered himself onto the ground and continued to gaze at the sapling.

" _It all begins as a small sapling…._ " Gingko's words echoed.

"One day…I will be strong…strong enough to protect everyone…" Oak muttered to himself. "and strong enough to travel the world and find out who I really am…"

That night the two of them had a large dinner made up of rice, berried, and a whole collection of strange roots. Oak shoveled the rice into his mouth and then immediately went in for seconds. Gingko just laughed as the snivy scoped another helping of rice and continued shoveling it into his mouth.

"Don't eat too much, or you won't sleep tonight and if that happens then you won't be ready for training tomorrow." Gingko softly said as he ate.

"So what am I going to do tomorrow?" Oak said with excitement. "Do I actually get to learn some new techniques…or do I get to learn some new battle strategies or…"

"You will wake up the same time as you did this morning and you will start the day with going to the well to get water for my morning tea…"

"Again…"

"Then you will use the broom that's in the corner of the room and sweep this room and your room…heck why don't you sweep this entire wing it isn't that big…"

"But…"

"Next you will go out into the courtyard and water my bonsais…we didn't get to that because of the water incident…"

"Master…"

"Then you will get rid of all the boulders…then…."

"With all due respect master Gingko, but how is this training me…I mean from what I've experienced toady your only using me as a maid…"

A giant smile spread across the chestnaught face and he let out a loud laugh. His pipe fell out of his mouth but he quickly caught it and placed it back into his mouth.

"That's what they all say…trust me if I was using you as a maid I would've had you clean areas of this facility you didn't exist Sapling."

"But how is this training…."

"Well Sapling, there is a reason why I am making you act like my "Maid." Gingko said as he leaned back in his chair. "Your teacher…uh what's his name…he told some really great puns…"

"Brook?"

"Brook, yes he told me that you needed help controlling your powers. So before we can get any training done we need to fix that problem first."

"BUT WHAT DOES CLEANING…"

Without any warning the chestnaught quickly grabbed his empty bowl, and threw it towards the snivy. Before Oak could even react his vines shot out from his collar and slapped the bowl out of the air. Oak sat there speechless as his vines quickly retracted back into his collar.

"How did…I didn't even…how…"

"Could have been a bit faster…but we can work on it." Gingko grunted as he puffed out a large cloud of smoke. "So still think my cleaning assignments were just for my amusement? HA, I was training you! I was teaching you how to control your power."

"But how…I didn't even call them…they just came…"

"That's because you quickly registered that you were in danger and in response your powers were summoned to protect you. Just by making you do that I can see that we can shorten the first part of my training."

"Really…so how long until we start?"

"Four days." Gingko said. "If you can show more improvement in four days we will move on and I will start to teach you some techniques."

Oak slowly nodded his head and the chestnaught only smiled. They continued to eat until the food was completely gone. Oak hopped off of his chair and began making his way towards his room.

"And where do you think you're going sapling?"

"Sleep?" Oak said as a sheepish smile slowly etched itself onto his face.

"Sleep? Not yet, you need to wash these dishes…"

"But…"

"Did I just hear a but sapling?"

"No…no sir…" Oak moaned as he walked back to the table and carried he pot out of the room and began his trek towards the well.

Once he had finished cleaning the dishes he gave them back to master Gingko who then instructed him to put them away. Then, once that was done he was allowed to go to bed. He flopped onto his pile of hay and he let out a loud sigh of relief.

He was done for the day and now he could go to sleep. Except tomorrow he would wake up and do the same thing again and again…and again for the next four days. He wondered if he would even survive that long…but if he did then he would be given the chance to learn some techniques.

He tried to turn onto his back but his entire body was sore from the long day of constant labor. He moaned in pain as he slowly turned himself onto his back and started at the celling.

"I wonder if Fiona is having any better luck with her training…" Oak muttered as he continued to look at the celling.

His exhaustion slowly began to drag him into sleep. He continued to think about all the cool things he and Fiona could do after they finished their training. Oak could summon other plant like attacks and Fiona could spew larger plums of fire. Then they could work hard and even get their sea license. Then they could set off into the world with Makit.

" _I wonder how Makit is doing…_ " Oak thought as he slowly lost conscious and fell into a deep sleep. " _Well whatever he is up too I hope he's ready to travel the world with us soon…"_

Oak smiled at the thought and then he slowly feel to sleep. That night he dreamt about sailing around the world with his friends. Sailing to uncharted seas, fighting pirates, finding treasure, and even learning about Oaks past.

"Makit…get ready to lower the sails! We are setting off on an adventure!" Oaks dream self said as the water stone slowly sailed into the sunset.

Author Corner:

Hey guys its Shifu here with a small update. First, sorry for the long wait my schedule got really packed at it made it hard for me to have any time to write. Second, my schedule is now open so that means I can start getting back into typing chapters. That's all I have to say for now. Thank you guys for the support and I hope you are eager to see what happens next. Don't forget to leave a comment and if you have any questions don't be afraid to send me a message. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I will see you all next time!


	12. Special Episode: Makit the Warrior Pt:1

**Special Episode**

 **Makit the Warrior Part 1**

It was a warm, summer day and the small port town of Relcanth Bay was alive with activity. The port town's business district was packed with shoppers admiring the various wares offered by the numerous vendors that lined the paved avenues. To these pokemon it was just another normal day of shopping and socializing. Nothing could break the peace…

"EVERYONE RUN!" A group of pokemon screamed as they ran down the hill and into the market. "THERE'S A GIANT BOULDER EHADING RIGHT FOR US!"

The other pokemon turned and gawked at the massive boulder that was hurtling towards them. The market erupted into chaos as the mob of shoppers quickly began to run for their lives. The boulder continued its rampage as it flattened stalls and houses that sat in its path.

"IS THERE ANYONE WHO CAN HELP US!?" A shopper screamed.

Two pokemon leapt down from the roof tops and faced the boulder. One of them slowly cracked his knuckles and smiled at his partner. His partner returned the smile and looked at the boulder.

"Looks like our day off turned into a rescue mission." Oak joked.

"I was really hoping to just relax and just enjoy myself…"Fiona groaned.

"We can enjoy the rest of the day after we smash this thing into pebbles!"

Oaks vines quickly extended form his collar and quickly wrapped themselves around a nearby lamppost. He jumped into the air and used the momentum to swing himself at the boulder. As he flew his tail began to glow with a bright light and a small trail of leaves began to appear behind him. He used the last bit of his momentum to swing his tail commanding the small army of sharp leaves to attack the boulder.

The small army of leaves flew at the boulder and harmlessly bounced off of its sold skin. Oak let out a small curse before he jumped back to avoid the destructive boulder.

"Dammit…I thought that would work." Oak cursed.

"Oak get ready! I'm about to turn up the heat!" Fiona yelled.

Fiona took in a deep breath and then unleased a volley of fire balls. They whistled as they flew through the air before they slammed into the boulder. The boulder slowly began to lose speed, but as soon as the barrage of fire balls stopped it quickly gained speed and continued its rampage.

"Fiona do that again! If we can slow it down enough maybe we can destroy it!" Oak said happily.

The fenekin nodded and took in another deep breath. She unleased another volley of fire balls that slammed against the boulder. The boulder struggled to fight against the volley of fire balls, and it slowly began to lose speed.

"KEEP IT UP FIONA!"

Fiona's fire balls began to shrink in size and the barrage began to shrink down to only a few fire balls. Fiona's breathing began to become heavy and the boulder began to slowly over power the attack. Her attack began to slowly disappear and the boulder quickly over powered the attack and continued its rampage.

They quickly turned on their heels and began running down the hill and towards the docks. Fiona's foot slammed into a lose brick causing her to topple onto the street. She helplessly looked up at the boulder and then called for Oak.

"OAK HELP ME!" She screamed.

Oak quickly ran back towards his friend and tried to help her to her feet. The boulder was getting closer and Oak was struggling on trying to help Fiona.

"Go on without me Oak…" Fiona said giving her friend a confident smile.

"NO…were a team and I'm not leaving you Fiona!" Oak said.

The boulder was getting closer and it was clear that they weren't going to make it.

"SOMEONE HELP US!" Oak called.

"Is there a problem my friend?" A heroic voice called from the roof tops.

Oak and Fiona looked up towards the voice and found Makit standing on the roof tops. On his face he wore a small black mask that had circles cut out for his eyes. Around his neck he wore a red cape that heroically flapped in the wind.

"Fiona look its Punch Man!" Oak cried happily. "We're saved!"

Makit jumped down from the roof and heroically walked towards the duo. He quickly helped Oak get Fiona to her feet and then turned towards the boulder.

"Will you be ok Punch Man?" Fiona asked.

Makit only gave her a confident smile and a thumbs up.

"Oh, Punch Man you're my hero…please be safe…" Fiona said as she and Oak ran towards the docks.

Makit slowly cracked his knuckles and looked towards the boulder. He took in a deep breath and pulled back his fist. He slowly shifted his feet into a fighting stance and focused. Hs fist began to glow with a bright, white light and beads of sweat bean to drip down his face.

The boulder was almost upon him and if he didn't act now he would be flattened.

"Focus…PUNCH!" Makit yelled as he slammed his glowing fist into the boulder.

The boulder came to a sudden stop and a web of cracks began to branch out from Makit's impact. Large chunks of the boulder began to fall away until noting was left but a large pile of rubble. Makit lowered his steaming fist and smiled.

"Punch Man saved us!" A shopper yelled.

"He saved our town!" Another one replied.

"HE SAVED MY CABBAGES!"

Makit was quickly surrounded by a large mob of excited and grateful pokemon. All of them congratulated him, thanked him, and even offered him small gifts of gratitude. Makit just sheepishly scratched the back of his head and tried his best to give everyone a heroic smile.

"You did Mak…I mean Punch Man!" Oak said as he and Fiona pushed their way through the crowd.

"It was nothing my friend just another job well done by your neighborhood Punch Man!"

The crowd erupted with joy and began chanting his name in unison.

"Punch man thanks for the help." Oak said as he pushed his way through the crowd of fans.

"It wasn't a problem citizen! After all I am the hero this town deserves. FOR I AM PUNCH MAN!"

The crowd of Pokémon cheered and began to chant his name again.

"I think you would make a great addition to our team." Oak declared as he held out his hand. "I mean if we even deserve to be in your presence…."

Makit happily grabbed the snivy's hand and gave it a firm shake. The crowd erupted in cheers and continued to chant his name.

"Welcome aboard Makit." Fiona said.

"Makit….Makit…Makit!" The crowd chanted.

The makuhita's cheeks turned a deep red and he continued to rub the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Makit…Makit…MAKIT…MAKIT!" A stern voice called from the crowd.

"Who's calling my name, a fan?" Makit asked sheepishly.

"A FAN? NOT IT'S ME, LEWIS HERE TO TELL YOU TO GET YOUR LAZY ASS OUT OF BED!" The voice screamed.

Makits eyes shot opened and he found himself in his pile of hay back in his room. He slowly turned onto his side and found a very angry gibel glaring at him. He quickly got off his hay pile and bowed to the angry gibel.

"Good morning Lewis…sorry about sleeping in and…"

"This is the third time this week!" Lewis yelled. "Mrs. Rose isn't letting you live here for free!"

The makuhita sighed and nodded his head. The gibel just sighed and gently placed his arm on the makuhitas shoulder.

"Look Makit I'm just trying to help you out. You're a good kid and you obviously really want to stay here. But if you want to live here you need to stop staying up so late and wake up early. Alright?"

"Alright." Makit replied. "I'm sorry Lewis I won't sleep in anymore."

"That's good to hear Makit. Now how about you wash up and meet me in the back room to go over your delivery.

"Sounds good."

Lewis patted him on the shoulder and walked out of the room. Makit just sighed and got ready for the day. He removed the gloves from his hands and walked over to the wash basin.

It had been three days since he sailed Fiona and Oak to the central continent from Lapris Island. The day after he arrived he quickly began looking for a place to stay until he officially joined the guild. It was difficult at first but he finally found someone who was willing to give him a place to stay.

Her name was Mrs. Rose a kind, old roserade who ran a small boarding house for sailors who didn't have anywhere else to stay. Not only did she offer them a place to stay she even had her own boat house which she allowed sailors to store their ships in.

It was almost like a dream come true, but this dream came with a price. If you agreed to use the services you had to work for her until you were ready to leave. It sounded easy enough, well except for the fact that you had to work at her flower store to use the services,

Makit dipped his hands into a small barrel of water and splashed the water onto his face. He really didn't mind working at a flower shop; in face the sailors called it the manliest job in the world. Saying that only the toughest sailors would dare be allowed to be seen working here.

He smiled at the thought before he grabbed a small towel and dried his face. Once he had finished he picked up his gloves and put them onto his fist. Just as he was about to walk out of the door he stopped, rubbed his neck, and looked back towards his room.

Sitting in the center of his hay pile was the rope necklace that Oak had returned to him while they were on Lapris Island. He slowly walked back towards his room and picked up the necklace. He gently moved the piece of uneven metal in his hand.

" _This old thing?_ " His mother joked as she held up the piece of metal. " _It's a piece of my first ship. It was my pride and joy…I sailed that ship all around the world and not once did it fail on me…The ship sadly finally fell apart on me and since then I kept this piece... hoping one day to put it in another ship…but for now it will symbolize my dream to sail round the world again…_ "

Makit slowly lifted the necklace over his head and dropped it onto his shoulders. He lifted his hand and grasped the metal.

" _My dream to sail the world again…just one more time…_ "

"and I will make it happen…but first I have to wait for my friends…then we can all sail the world together."

The shop was packed with customers, workers, and messenger pidoves that morning. It wasn't a surprise Mrs. Rose's flower arrangements were famous throughout the continent. Sometimes workers would even have to sail to some of the small islands that sat around the central continent.

He quickly weaved his way through the crowds of people and slid into the back. There he found himself surrounded by crates filled with the morning's deliveries. Other employees were hoisting the crates onto their backs and were quickly planning their routes.

Makit said good morning to each of them and made his way towards his own crate. He quickly pushed his arms through the straps and hoisted the crate onto his back.

"Alright Makit here is your delivery route for today." Lewis said as he quickly handed Makit a small paper list. "Once you finish that one come back and start delivering the afternoon deliveries and…"

"I know I know…you want me to then wash out my crate. Lewis I have been doing this for three days now."

"You're still new at this…besides you might be here for a while…"

"Well until my friends get their sea license then…"

"Makit…do you know how long it will take for them to get a sea license?"

"Uh…a couple of days?"

"Look, Makit it will take them awhile to learn all the requirements they need to even qualify for the license…or they find people with those skills."

"I think they can do it quickly." Makit said confidently.

"Take it from me kid…just put that dream on the shelf and move on…" Lewis muttered.

The makuhita puffed out his cheeks and grunted with displeasure. Lewis raised his arms in defeat and walked away from the stubborn makuhita.

"Fine, just live in your little fantasy world Makit! Who knows maybe they might succeed but what are the chances that they remember you and…HEY GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

Makit ignored him and walked out of the warehouse and into the town. He quickly looked at his list and began making his way towards his first delivery.

"I don't care how long it takes…I will see them again and I will sail with them!" Makit muttered. "What does Lewis know has just some prick who likes to crush people's dreams…?"

Then again he hadn't heard anything from Fiona or Oak. They never came down to the dock to see if he was still there. He would know, after work he went down to the dock to check on the Water Stone to make sure it was still in good condition.

" _There probably just busy…yeah…I mean guild work does keep people busy…_ " Makit thought to himself as he walked up to the first house. " _I hope that's the reason…_ "

The morning soon came to a close and Makit finished making his final delivery. With the deliveries done he decided it was time to head down to the market district for an early lunch. After all he had to keep up his strength for the afternoon delivery, and in case a giant boulder appeared. He chuckled at the thought as he hoisted the crate back onto his back and made his way to the market.

He slowly walked through the crowds of people towards a small stand that served a collection of hand crafted food. He ordered his food and then walked over to his favorite bench that sat in the center of a small green space in the center of the market. He lowered the crate onto the ground and hoisted himself up onto the bench.

He looked up at the sky and began wondering what Oak and Fiona were up too. They were probably on some secret mission to gather information. Or maybe they were fighting a band of thieves who were hoarding a large stash of gold! Or maybe they were exploring some cave that once served an entrance for a long lost civilization!

Just thinking about what they could be doing made him excited, and he couldn't wait to sail with them around the world. Maybe he could help them take down a band of evil thieves or rescue a village from a hoard of pirates.

"So did you hear about the two newbies that got inducted into the training center yesterday?" A passing pokemon said pulling Makit out from his day dreaming.

"Yeah, Liz told me that the two of them literally passed out on the ground." His friend responded.

"That and they apparently had a letter of recommendation…meaning that they got in regardless if they passed the entry exam.

"They also got accepted by two of the toughest instructors… "

"I give them three days…before they give up and quit."

"I don't know man these guys took down a juvenile ursaring on their first mission…so who knows maybe they might survive …What were their names again?"

"I know one guy is named after a tree…and the other starts with an F…"

"Oak and Fiona…" Makit interrupted.

"Yeah, that's it! Yeah they are being trained by Gingko and Igneous..."

Gingko and Igneous were almost considered masters of their elemental abilities. Meaning that both of them were receiving a high level of training…which meant that they were getting stronger. If they were getting stronger then that meant that they would only want strong pokemon working with them…

" _And that means they won't want me…_ "He thought as he looked at his hands. " _They will find someone stronger…meaning I will get left behind_ … _oh Arceus why have you cursed me!_ _After I finally found some pokemon I could call my friends you take them away from me!_ "

"Hey are you alright?" One of the pokemon asked.

"Huh…yeah…I….I'm fine thanks for asking…" Makit lied.

He gave them a fake smile and waved to them as they walked away. Once they had disappeared from sight Makit's fake smile vanished and he looked down at the ground.

" _They're getting stronger…_ " He thought to himself. " _Which means that they can take on higher level missions…which will increase their popularity…and sailors will beg them to let them join them…_ "

He slowly curled his gloved fingers into a fist and tried to fight away the thought of being left behind.

" _I can already imagine that they would say to me…_ "Makit thought to himself.

" _Sorry Makit…_ " Fiona's voice said. " _We found someone who is better than you in both power and sea knowledge_."

" _But I thought we were friends…_ " Makit's voice pleaded. " _You can't just ditch me!_ "

" _Yeah we can_ " Oak sneered. " _You're just a giant, weak, fat blob! Our new teammate is better than you I every way possible…_ "

"I won't get left behind…" Makit muttered to himself. "I will… I will make myself stronger that way…we will be on the same level…"

After he finished his lunch Makit made his way back to the flower shop. He quickly loaded the crate with the afternoon's delivery and a few sacs filled with sand. He hefted the crate onto his shoulders and slowly made his way out of the store.

His legs and his shoulders began to burn as soon as he reached the first house. He delivered the flowers and, grudgingly, lifted the crate back onto his back.

"I have to get stronger…and to that I'm going to add a sand bag each day to help build up my leg muscles…" Makit huffed. "And then when I get back I will do twenty pushups…and then tomorrow I will do thirty…"

He picked up the pace and began to quickly walk down the cobbled road. After he made the second delivery he quickened his pace until he was running with the heavy crate on his back.

He jogged to the next house and then jogged to the next one, until he eventually came to the final house. He quickly pushed the crate off of his shoulders and toppled onto the street in exhaustion. His shoulders were a bright red and the bottom of his feet were covered in blisters.

Now all he had to do was deliver the last bouquet of flowers. He painfully pushed himself to his feet and looked at the house. It was a small stone, two story house with a tiled roof. He slowly walked up to the carved, birch door and knocked.

Makit twisted the bushel of flowers in his hands and toke in a deep breath. The door slowly opened and a large, old pangoro stepped out into the late, afternoon light. In his right hand he held a long, wooden walking stick and in his left hand he held a small bag of coins. His right eye had a large, pale scar stretched across and his left eye was pure white.

"Who's there?" The pangoro asked in a gruff voice.

"Uh…Mrs. Rose's flower shop…I am here to deliver your flowers." Makit said meekly.

"Speak up boy!" The pangoro barked. "I know it's embarrassing to be seen totting a box of flowers around, but you have to keep your pride."

"It's not that sir it's just…"

"What, I intimidate you?" He said still staring above Makits head.

"No sir…anyway I am here to deliver your flowers…" Makit said as he handed the pangoror the flowers.

The pangoro gingerly toke the bushel and raised it to his nose. He toke in a deep breath and smiled.

"Ah…Tiger Lilies…Juts the scent of them reminds me of the old days…"He happily muttered to himself.

"That will be twenty gold coins please…"Makit began before the pangoro thrusted the bag into his chest.

"Keep the change…" The pangoro muttered before he turned and began walking back into his home.

The door slammed behind him and Makit looked at the bag of coins and then looked back at the door. For some odd reason he had a strange feeling that he knew who the pangoro was. But he quickly pushed the feeling aside and returned to his crate.

He grunted unhappily as he hoisted the heavy crate back onto his shoulders. He took a few small steps as he adjusted himself to the weight, and then he quickly picked up his pace. It was time to go back to the store and get ready for tomorrow. Because tomorrow was another day o deliveries and training.

It had been three days since Makit began his intense training. Each morning he would wake up with aches and sores. But he fought through them and got off his pile of hay. He quickly loaded his crate with flowers and sand bags and then went out on his deliveries.

Then after he returned from his afternoon delivery he would go to his room and do pushups. After that he would punch a bag of flower that hung from the rafters of his room.

"I have to get stronger…"Makit muttered as he slammed his fist into the bag of loose flower.

"You won't get stronger by doing that my dear." A kind, frail voice said from behind.

Makit quickly stopped his training and slowly turned and jumped when he discovered Mrs. Rose standing at the door. She gave Makit a warm, kind smile as she slowly entered the room.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Rose…I didn't mean to stay up past curfew. I was just…"

The old roserade raised her rose shaped hand signaling for him to stop talking.

"Its fine my dear, I understand why you have to train. But could you at least tell me why you are training?"

Makit looked down at the ground and took in a deep breath.

"It sounds kind of silly…but I'm afraid that if I'm not strong enough then I might lose my friends…"

"Why do you think that?"

"Well…" Makit began.

He told her about how he had discovered that the two pokemon he had sailed to the continent with had been accepted into a well-known training center. That and the fact that they were being taught by two masters of their types. He told her about how he had been promised that they would sail with him when they got their sea license. He was afraid that they would want someone stronger to sail their ship and not some weakling.

"So you think you are weak…" the roserade said.

"Well I did help defeat a gyrados…but he just evolved so that made it easy…"

Mrs. Rose nodded her head and motioned for him to continue.

"Well imagine if a more mature gyrados attacked us…one that has more combat experience…then it would be out of our league…they need someone that hits hard and can take anything out in one punch!"

"One punch is a bit too much…well Makit I don't think you need to be afraid of being left behind…" Rose said. "From what you told me about these two, it sounds like they wouldn't do anything like that."

"Really?"

"Of course…you need someone to teach you Makit…someone that isn't a punching bag or a crate filled with sand bags."

"Wait…how did you…"

"Lewis saw you loading them into your crate the other day…he asked me to speak with you after you left for your afternoon round of deliveries. He might seem like a jerk to you Makit, but he has a heart of gold. He doesn't want you getting hurt."

"So what should I do then?"

"Like I said before, find a teacher and ask him to teach you, but also keep finding ways to train yourself until then…and promise me one thing my dear."

"What's that Mrs. Rose?"

"Don't hurt yourself…I need you in top condition if you are to continue working here."

Makit nodded his head and promised he would be careful. Mrs. Rose gave him one last smile before she turned and walked out of the room. She slowly closed the door behind her and began walking down the hall.

" _There is one person I could call…He might deny my request but it's the best choice I have._ " Rose thought. " _That boy could have a bright future…and I want to help him anyway I can…_ "

She smiled at the thought and walked out of the boarding house. She had some writing to do before she went to bed.

Makit awoke the next morning soar and exhausted. He had stayed up late punching the sack of flower. He painfully rolled off his hay pile, walked over the bag of flower, and gave it a punch. The bag absorbed his attack and it didn't mold to the shape of his fist.

"Just as I feared…the flower is starting to clump together….meaning that it will be even harder for me to hit it without hurting myself."

He sighed and gave the bag a playful push before he turned his attention to the wash basin. He quickly splashed the water onto his face and. He put on his gloves and placed his mother's necklace onto his neck.

"Just another normal day…" Makit mumbled as he made his way out of the boarding house and into the store.

He quickly entered the back room and walked over to his crate. It was already filled with the morning deliveries and…his sand bags. He scratched his head in confusion because he swore that he had taken them out the night before.

"You're already running late Makit!" Lewis yelled. "Get moving and…be safe out there…bon' hurt yourself with those sand bags."

Makit quickly pushed his arms thought he straps and bolted out of the store. His legs began to burn from the weight but he fought through the pain and kept running. He quickly raced the first house and made the delivery. Then he dashed off and made the next delivery.

The sun was almost in the center of the sky by the time Makit had finished the morning deliveries. His feet were covered in blisters from all the running and his shoulder were sore from the wright of the crate. His face was drenched in sweat and a large grin was plastered on his face.

"That has to be the fastest delivery I've ever done." Makit laughed. "Now it's time for lunch and more weight!"

"Lunch you say? I wonder what's on the menu." A voice said.

"Hey, boss I think I know what's on the menu!" Another said.

"Oh, and what is it?"

"CASH!"

Makit slowly turned and found the owners of the voices. The first voice belonged to a sly looking machop, who was eyeing Makits crate with high interest. The second voice belonged to a small, and energetic shelmet who couldn't stop moving. Both of them grinned at Makit, and motioned for him to step away from the crate.

"Alright tubs give is the cash!" The machop said.

"YEAH GIVE US THAT MONEY MONEY MONEY!"

"There isn't money in here…"Makit muttered. "It's for delivering flowers…"

"Then why does it look like it weights so much?"

"It's filled with sand bags…" Makit muttered.

"LIAR IT'S FILLED WITH GOLD BARS! YOU CAN'T TRICK MY BOSS!"

"Yeah and we knows that pokemon who work at the bank like to walk down this road on this day every week to collect taxes from the residents…meaning that carte is filled with gold!" The machop puffed out his chest and let out a confident laugh.

" _Maybe I should add them to the carte…their heads are probably filled with sand…_ " Makit thought to himself.

"For the last time there isn't..."

The machop ran forward and slammed his fist into Makit's chest knocking the wind out of him. Makit grunted in pain before he collapsed onto the ground clutching his stomach.

"OI check the loot crate!" The machop ordered. "Lest see how much he was carrying!"

The shelmet let out a loud sequel of excitement and he quickly ran over to the crate. He jumped up onto the rim and peered inside.

"Well?"

"It's…IT'S FILLED WITH FRICKEN SAND!WHAT KIND OF BANKER CARRIES SAND! ?"

"Feel free to take a bag…" Makit groaned as he got to his feet. "You're going to need one to get rid of the rattling sound in your head."

The machop gritted his teeth and launched another punch at Makit's stomach. This time Makit grabbed onto the machop's fist, lifted him off the ground, and slammed him into the road. The machop quickly got to his feet and ran at him again. Makit pulled his fist back and waited for the opportunity.

Once he was in range Makit forced his fist forward and slammed it right into the machop's face. The thief let out a scream of pain as he quickly grabbed his face. .

"MY BEAUTIFUL FACE! YOU HIT MY PRECOUS FACE! HOW AM I GONNA PICK UP CHICKS WITH A BLODDIED FACE! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT TUBBY!"

The thief let out a loud battle cry before he ran towards his Makit with his fist extended. . Makit thrusted out his fist and slammed it right into the machop's fist. The force of the impact sent Makit skidding across the pavement. They ran at each other again and this time Makit managed to slam his fist into the thief's face again.

The machop roared with anger and ran at him again. Makit puffed his chest in confidence and prepared himself for his new attack. But just before he could attack a sudden swarm of small, black, insects obscured his vision. He quickly began fighting the bugs in an attempt to get them away from his eyes.

"AHAHAH!" The shelmet laughed. "BUG BUZZ... BUGG BUZZ…ALL YOU LITTLE BUGS DO AS I SAY AHAHAHA!"

A sudden jolt of pain erupted from his stomach and Makit quickly gabbed his gut. The machop had rushed him again and had landed a powerful punch right into his gut. He let out a violent cough and crumbled onto the street. The swarm of insects slowly vanished and Makit could see again.

He slowly raised his head and found the machop's foot just inches above his head. A small stream of blood was flowing from the machop's broken nose, and his eyes were filled with a look of pure rage.

"You know if you had just told us were the money was we could have worked it out."

"I told you idiots…"Makit muttered. "There is no money…"

"Idiots…first my beautiful nose…now your insulting me! NO ONE DOES THAT TO THE SON OF A FAMOUSE FIGHTER…NOT EVEN A WEAK…TUBBY…FIGHTING DUMPLING!"

"Your right…"Makit coughed. "I am weak…and I should have seen that swarm of bugs…but…"

"BUT WHAT!"

"But I don't care…because deep down…I know I could have beaten you…and I know that I just have to keep getting stronger…."

"No…no you won't be getting stronger…because when I'm done you will never want to fight again tubby!"

Makit slowly raised his hand and grabbed onto the machop's foot. A large grin slowly began etch itself onto his face and he let out a small laugh.

"You…you can break me…you can punch me, kick me, throw me, or even brutally injure me…but no matter what you do to me…I…WILL…NEVER GIVE UP…MY WILL…TOO…FIGHT…BECAUSE ONE DAY…I WILL NEED THAT STRENGTH TO HELP FIGHT WITH MY FRIENDS…"

The machop slammed his foot against Makit's face and quickly raised his foot. He slammed it against his face again and again and again. Makit still smiled and he still kept a hold on the machop's leg.

"WHY…WON'T YOU…JUST GIVE UP!"

"Because if I give up…then…I can never accomplish my dream…"Makit whimpered as he wrapped his free hand around the piece of metal. "My dream to sail the world!"

The thief laughed at Makits words and prepared his foot for another attack.

" _No matter what you do…you will never break my spirit to make it come true…._ " Makit smiled at the thought and waited for the attack. " _I just have…have to get stronger…_ "

"The youth of today have no respect for one another…"A familiar voice grumbled.

The machop's foot stopped a few inches from Makits face and he slowly turned towards the new pokemon. The new comer was the old pangoro that Makit had delivered flowers to a few days ago. He looked at the scene in front of him and grunted with displeasure.

"WHOS THE LD FART!" The shellmet yelled.

"Old fart…humph…you two are a disgrace to your families…"The pangror muttered.

"I will have you know old fart that my dad is a class A fighter and a member of a gold level team!" The machop boated proudly.

The pangoro only sighed and began walking towards them. He positioned his walking stick out in front of him and began waving it from side to side. Every now and then he would tap it along the ground.

"YO BOSS THIS OLD FART IS BLIND!WE CAN TAKE HIM RIGHT BOSS…BOSS?"

The shelmet looked over at his friend and noticed something different. His body was shaking and he couldn't keep his foot centered on Makits head. His eyes darted form side to side and a small bead of seat dripped down his face.

The shelemt looked over at the pangoro and shook his head in disproval.

"Boss…why are you scared of some old fart who's…"

"SHUT UP YOU SHIT HEAD!" The machop whimpered. "DO YOU WHO THAT IS!"

"No…"

"That pangoro is the great Master Fuji…the leader…the leader of Ursa Major…"

"YOY MEAN THE HERO TEAM URSA MAJOR!"

"Yep…but why is he here…"

"I am here because I have a vacation home on this continent…and every year I like to come here to relax…and today is the day I take a nice stroll around the town….EXCEPT!"

The pangoro slammed his foot against the paved street and then snarled.

"You two…YOU TWO…YOU BLIND FOOLISH CHILDREN…ATTACK SOMEONE WITHOUT ANY KIND OF HONOR OR DIGNITY!"

"But…"

"AND YOU!" Fuji roared as he pointed his walking stick towards the machop. "YOU DARE USE YOUR FATHERS NAME TO JUSTIFY YOUR ACTIONS!"

"But…"

"I WANT YOU UNGRATFUL FILTH OUT…OF…MY…WAY!" Fuji roared.

Before the two thieves could even turn Fuji rushed towards them and slammed his fist into the flower crate. His fist went right through the thick, layered side and right into the opening.

The machop and the shelmet slowly backed away from the pangoro and then turned and ran into a nearby alley way. Once they were gone Fuji let out a small sigh of displeasure as he removed his fist from the box.

"Oi, boy are you alright?" Fuji asked a she rubbed his wrist.

Makit didn't respond he was pretending to be knocked out so he didn't have to face the old pangoros wrath.

"I know your awake boy…your breathing is ragged…"

"Dammit…" Makit muttered.

Fuji grunted at the response and slowly lowered himself onto the ground.

"Boy what is your name…" Fuji asked.

"Uh…Makit sir…"

"Makit…I guess I didn't need to go all the way to Rose's flower shop to find you…"

"Wait what you were…"

"Makit do you believe in destiny?" Fuji interrupted.

"Uh…sure why?"

"Because destiny seems to want me to train you…"

"You…the great Fuji…teach me…master Fuji I'm honored and…"

"Well that is if you pass y test…"  
"What test?"  
"I want to still speak with Rose to learn more about you…that way I can actually determine if you are worth my time…"


	13. Chapter 11: Oak and the Stone

**Chapter 11**

 **Oak and the Stone**

The week slowly trudged on by as Oak continued his training with master Gingko. Every morning he would wake up early go to the broom closet and sweep out his room and master Gingko's room. Then he had to run to the well and fill a bucket full of water for his master's tea. That was followed by more sweeping, racking the zen garden and pushing boulders back over the wall. Followed by a solid hour of meditation. It was exhausting but Oak took on each day as it came.

On the morning of his last day of his first week of training he opened his eyes and realized that master Gingko wasn't hammering his fist on his door telling him to get up. Oak slowly got up from his bed and walked towards the door. He gently pushed the door open and peered out into the hall and didn't see any sign of the old chesnaught.

Oak quickly jumped out into the hall and sprinted towards the training room. He found the door wide open and noticed Master Gingko sitting at the table drinking a cup of tea.

"Good morning master," Oak said as he bowing his head. "I guess I slept in and didn't get the water for your tea and…"

"Slept in," Gingko laughed. "You didn't sleep in. In fact you woke up just on time."

"But…your tea."

"I did it myself because as of today you are no longer the core boy. You are now ready."

"So what now?" Oak said with excitement.

"Well after breakfast we are going to begin your second week of training…which will include more cleaning and more sweeping and…"

"But you just said…"

"I was kidding…maybe I should train you in comedy too…" Gingko muttered. "Anyway after we eat we are leaving the facility and heading to the bottom of the hill."

"And what's at the bottom of the hill?"

Gingko smiled as he pulled his pipe out from mouth. He pursed his lips and breathed out a small cloud of white smoke.

"The home of the spirits of the wild…"

Oak and Gingko quickly ate their breakfast before they grabbed hold of two back packs and made their way out of the training facility. From on top of the hill Oak could see the expansive ocean, the small town of Relecanth bay, and the large tree that housed the guild. The cloudless sky and the mid-morning sun hung above them as they walked around the border wall of the training facility.

Once they reached the back they slowly began walking down a set of worn, stone steps which descended into a small, thick, old growth forest. The hill around the steps began to change as the expansive grass land was slowly replaced with large birches, oaks, and pines. Their thick canopies hung above them and only allowed small beams of sunlight to pass through illuminating a few of the remaining steps.

Gingko took his final step off of the staircase and turned towards Oak. He held his finger to his lips signaling him to remain silent. He slowly raised his hand and pointed towards a strange, stone sitting at the entrance of a dirt trail.

The stone must have been carved to look like a pokemon at one point, but time and nature had weathered away the detail. A large collection of moss and vines hung from it joints.

Gingko slowly walked over to the strange statue and slowly bowed his head in respect. He looked over at Oak and motioned him forward. Oak followed his master's example and slowly lowered his head. They stood motionless for a few moments before Gingko tapped him on the shoulder signaling him to raise his head.

They slowly walked around the statue and walked onto a somewhat well-worn path that stretched out into the forest.

"So what was that?" Oak asked. "Was it a pokemon? Why did we bow to it?"

"That was a guardian totem" Gingko said. "It wards off evil and protects this forest from anyone who wishes to harm it. By bowing to it we are telling it that we will respect the forest and not do any major damage to it."

"Do we have to that every time we run into one?"

"It's respectful and if we didn't then it would have attacked and…"

"Wait that thing can come to life!" Oak said in disbelief.

"Well according to legend they were once a proud race of pokemon who were created by the gods to fight for them…they await the day that they are awoken to fight for their masters again…it might be a legend but still show respect you never know for certain…"

Oak nodded his head and Gingko stopped to pat the snivy on the head.

"Good, now let's keep moving I want to reach the clearing soon."

"Right."

Gingko picked up his pace and continued walking Oak was about to follow but a strange feeling stopped him. It almost felt like he was being watched by something hiding in the shadows. He slowly looked around but all he could see were mounds of vegetation and thick tree trunks.

"Maybe the legend is true," Oak muttered as he continued walking.

The duo continued their trek until they finally reached a large open clearing that was mostly covered by grass, but it did have a few large patches of exposed earth. Gingko took his backpack off and placed it onto the ground. Oak followed his example and the two of them quickly began setting up a small camp. Once the tents were up and the fire pit was established they moved to the center of the field.

"Alright now this part of my training will not be like last week," Gingko said. "This training will focus mainly on combat and your ability to control your powers."

"Awesome finally some real training!" Oak said with excitement. "What are you going to teach me first? The ability to make trees explode form the ground? Or maybe the ability to shoot thrones from my arms…or…"

"Why don't we just focus on your vines for now?"

"But I've been using my vines all week…can't I learn something new?"

Gingko just smiled and patted the snivy on the head.

"Yes, but I want to see if you have improved. Now extend your vines."

Oaks vines quickly extended from his collar and waited patiently for orders. It amazed Oak at how much progress he had made since his first day. Ever since then he never had any problems controlling his vines. They always obeyed and performed ever task.

"Now I want you to imagine you are sweeping…"

"Sweeping?"

"Yes, like you've been doing for the past week."

Oak just nodded and followed his master's instructions. He gently swayed his vines back and forth just like he had done the week before. Oak looked up and Gingko and chesnaught nodded his head in approval.

"Now, I want you to continue doing that but I want you to add in another movement. I want you to imagine you are racking my Zen garden."

Oak nodded his head and imagined he was back at the training facility racking Gingko's tiny garden. His vines continued to sway back and forth but the pattern slowly began to change. His swings began to become longer and every now and then he would swing his vines towards him in an arch.

Gingko nodded in approval and motioned for Oak to stop. He removed the pipe from his mouth and blew out a small cloud of white smoke.

"What you just did was a simple defense tactic used to ward off an opponent who might be trying to attack you from the front," Gingko said. "Now, you will need to speed it up a few notches otherwise you will leave yourself wide open."

"What if they attack from behind?"

"Simple, swing around and hit them. Your vines are already in a good position to attack and by swinging around you can sue the momentum you created to do some damage."

"Sounds easy enough."

"Good, now I want you to imagine your lifting the bucket of water."

Oak nodded and did what his mater instructed him. He lowered his vines and imagined lifting the bucket.

"Now I want you to combine that with lifting the boulders over the wall."

Oak lowered his vines again and imagined he was lifting one of the large boulders that had been flung over the fence. His vines tightened and he slowly began to lift the imaginary boulder over his head and once it was near the fence he pushed it over the ledge.

"Good, the technique you just performed is useful when you're dealing with enemies who get caught in your vines. You can lift them off their feet and throw them into the air."

"So…is this all the training is going to be? Just me repeating chore motions form the week before?" Oak said hoping Gingko would say no.

Gingko just laughed at the snivy's question and shook his head. .

"Yes and no," Gingko laughed. "You see Sapling, this is just the beginning of a long, difficult, week of training. The real training starts now."

"YES FINNALY!" Oak yelled with excitement.

Oak quickly got into a sloppy battle stance and waited for his master to attack him. Gingko only smiled at the young snivy's excitement and bent down. He picked up a small, round, stone and showed it to Oak.

"Your task is to take this stone form may hand. You may use any kind of tactic to obtain it. If you manage to do this then you will have successfully completed my training."

"Sounds easy enough."

A large smirk etched itself into the old chesnaught's face after Oak said that.

"Then come and get it sapling. I don't have all day."

Oak sprinted forward and reached out for the stone. Just as he was about to lower his hand to grab it Gingko quickly pulled his hand away. Oak quickly skidded to a stop and launched himself at the chesnaught again. Gingko simply stepped out of the way avoiding the snivy's charge.

"You're not going to get anywhere with a tactic like that." Gingko joked.

Oak didn't respond and quickly willed his vines to extend. He ran forward and when he was just a few feet from his master he slammed his vines onto the ground lifting him into the air. Once he was over Gingko he willed his vines to wrap around his masters arm.

Oak's vine obeyed and quickly raced towards its target. Gingko let out a loud sigh before he grabbed onto the exposed vines. Oak quickly landed back onto the ground and willed his captured vine to return. Gingko tightened his grip and smiled at the snivy's failed attempt to retrieve his weapons.

"I have to say that maneuver you did to propel yourself into the air was an impressive feet, but what you did after…left you wide open."

Before Oak could say anything he was hoisted up into the air by his vine. The chesnaught began to slowly swing Oak above his head like a lasso.

"You need to plan ahead and not allow your opponent to see your movements," Gingko yelled.

Oak yelled something back at Gingko but his words were lost in the sound of the rushing wind.

"Otherwise, your opponent can get the upper hand and use your own tactics against you, for example!"

Gingko slowly uncurled his fingers and allowed Oaks vine to slip out form his grasp. Oak flew through the air and landed right into the branches of a nearby tree. His body crashed through the branches and he landed onto the ground with a loud thud.

The entire world spun and everything within his line of site was upside down. He painfully turned himself over onto his stomach and tried to get to his feet. He wobbled back over to his master and glared up at him.

"Give up yet sapling?" Gingko asked.

Oak held up his hand and waited for the world to stop spinning. His body was covered in small scratches and he felt like he wanted to throw up.

"No…I'm not done…"Oak muttered. "I want…to keep…trying…"

"Very well than, and if you want to stop just tell me."

Oak looked up at his master and nodded his head.

" _He has to have a weak point somewhere…_ "Oak thought to himself.

He quickly glanced over the chesnaught and couldn't find a single opening. He was just casually standing there, and he managed to keep himself fully guarded. Oak glanced down towards his master's legs and thought of an idea.

" _His upper body might be well guarded, but there is the chance that he isn't protecting his legs_." Oak thought to himself. " _If I can just topple him over I can grab the stone._ "

He looked up at his master and gave him a small confident smile. He then rushed forward and willed his vines to extend. He ran past the chesnaught and willed his vines to wrap around his calf. Oak's vines rushed forward and quickly wrapped themselves around the chesnaught's leg. His vines quickly began to retract and Oak flew towards the joint between his master's upper and lower leg.

"Well I'll give you points for thinking of that strategy," Gingko muttered as he slowly lifted his tied leg. "But I never leave an opening."

Oak quickly planted his feet into the ground but it was too late. Gingko slammed the bottom of his foot right into Oaks chest sending him flying across the field. The snivy sore through the air until he slammed right into the trunk of a tree. He slowly and painfully got to his feet and glared at his master.

A sudden rush of adrenaline rushed through his body, a strange violet light began to glow around his body, and his eyes began to glow a deep shade of purple.

Gingko gave his student an odd gaze before he slowly began walking towards him. He gently placed his hand on the Oak's head and gave him a small confident smile.

"Why don't we stop for the day…and you can try again at the end of the week alright?"

"But…"

"We don't want to push you too far, or you might harm yourself."

"Alright…"

The purple light slowly died down and the buzz of adrenaline slowly dissipated.

"Good…now let's have some lunch!"

Gingko lit a small fire and began to pour a mixture of oats, berries, roots, and a strange handful of yellow powder into a small pot. He places the pot on top of the burning coals, relit his pipe, and exhaled a small cloud of white smoke.

"While that is cooking I think we should discuss some of your flaws," Gingko said. "First your battle stance is sloppy so we will need to work on it. Second you seem content with rushing towards your opponent, and that has backfired on you multiple times."

Oak just nodded his head and waited for his master to finish.

"Third, you rush…plan ahead and wait for your opponent to act…that way you can access the situation and figure out a way to counter them."

"Right."

"We'll work on those three things this week and who knows maybe we can throw in some fun new techniques as well."

"What kind of techniques?" Oak asked with a hint of excitement.

"Well that's what we will be going over after lunch. Now I hope you're ready for my world famous oatmeal…" Gingko said as he poured a spoon full of a brown, thick, ooze into a small wooden bowel.

Oak took the bowel form his master and bowed his head in thanks before he took a bite. His mouth erupted into a medley of unusual and disgusting flavors that made him close up his throat.

"What is this…delicious concoction?" Oak asked as he forced himself to swallow.

"Why it's my signature power oatmeal of course! Filled with all the nutrients and things a pokemon needs after a long day of training!" Gingko said before he placed a spoonful of his "World famous oatmeal" into his mouth.

"And this is all we have to eat for the rest of the week?"

"As a matter of fact yes, yes it is!"

"Great…"Oak muttered. "First I get beaten up twice and now I'm forced to eat shit flavored oatmeal…what a time to be alive…"

The day slowly dragged by and Oak was starting to believe he was trapped in hell. Right after their short lunch break Gingko introduced Oak to one of the many exercises that he would be required to complete. Gingko would throw stones at Oak and Oak's only job was to bat them away with his vines. It started out easy with Gingko only throwing one stone at a time, but the difficulty curve quickly jumped.

At one point during the exercise Gingko quickly rushed up to Oak and kicked a large cloud of dirt right into Oak's face. His eyes began to water making it harder for him to focus on the barrage of stones. His vines began to wave around uncontrollably allowing some of the stones to fly through his defenses.

"You need to stay focused," Gingko yelled as he hurled another barrage of stones. "You need to zone out nay distractions and focus on the enemy!"

Oak only grunted as he whipped the tears form his eyes. Another large stone sailed through his defense and slammed right into his chest.

"Can we do something else…"Oak groaned before he collapsed onto the ground.

"Very well…we can try this again tomorrow." Gingko muttered. "Let us move onto your next exercise."

Gingko's next exercise involved a large log which Gingko stated would be used to help train Oak in dodging. Again, it started out easy with Gingko only swinging the log every two minutes, but just like the first exercise he increased his speed and began to change the pattern. Sometimes he would swing it every two minutes or every two seconds.

"You need to know when to DODGE!" Gingko yelled as the log hurled towards Oak. "Your opponent will not always have a defined battle pattern so you must always be ready to dodge!"

"Right…"Oak said before the log slammed into him.

The day continued with more exercises involving Oak to carry large boulders with his vines, running around the edge of the field ten times, or they involved Oak slamming his side against a large hollow stump.

By the end of the day Oak's entire body was covered head to toe in bruises, scratches, and blisters. His collar was sore from all the lifting he had to do and his feet shook from exhaustion.

"Are we done…for today?" Oak asked hopefully.

Gingko exhaled a large white cloud of smoke and looked up at the early evening sky.

"Yes….we are done for the day." He sighed.

"Thank Arceus!"Oak groaned before he collapsed onto the ground.

"But tomorrow morning, I want you to be ready for more training. You will first run around the field ten times and then we will continue your defense training followed by a few new exercises and…"

"When are you going to teach me actual techniques?"

The old chesnaught smiled and let out a small laugh.

"Right techniques….like this?"

Hundreds of large, green, thorns appeared along his armored arms and legs.

"Or this…"

The thorns quickly shrank back into his body and he raised his hand into the air. A faint white light began to emanate from his fist and it quickly grew in until the light was almost blinding. He let out a small battle cry as he hurled his fist straight into a nearby boulder causing it to crumble into a pile of rubble.

"Or maybe you want to know how to do this?"

He lifted his leg into the air and slammed it into the ground. Large cracks began to spread from his impact and they raced towards the snivy like a hoard of angry serpents.

"Yeah, I want learn how to do moves like that!"

"Well before you can do any of that you first must master the techniques of battling."

Oak gave him a look of confusion and the chesnaught just shook his head.

"Dodging, defending, and simple attacks are all important in a battle. You could do all that fancy stuff but in the end your opponent would still get the upper hand. Knowing how to counter them, dodge them, and block them are the true techniques of battling."

"That makes sense…"Oak muttered.

"You will develop your own special techniques as time goes on…but for now we will just focus on these key things, alright?"

"Right!"

"Good, now let's have some dinner."

Oak only nodded and began to follow his master back towards their camp.

" _She is waiting for you…"_ A voice whispered from behind him.

Oak quickly turned and found no one behind him.

" _One day…you can come play with us…_ " The voice said.

Oak's eyes caught a small shadow moving deep within the thick forest.

" _We are waiting for you…Oak…some day you can come play with us…"_

Author Note:

Hey guys Shifu18 here with a quick update. First up, sorry for the delay I decided to take a small break and I needed some time to plan out the story. I hope you guys are eager to see what happens next and are excited about the next chapter. If you have any questions feel free to message me and please do leave a comment I do read them.

Happy reading and I will see you all next time!


	14. Chapter 12: Spirits and Stones

**Chapter 12**

 **Spirits and Stones**

The late afternoon sun casted its warm orange glow down upon the small open field were Oak was currently training. The week had been rough on him mentally and physically. It had been filled with drills focused on dodging, blocking, attacking, and humiliation.

Currently he was in the middle of a defense exercise which required him to use his vines to deflect projectiles. It sounded easy but it slowly got harder until it was almost impossible.

Oak was gasping for air as he slowly lowered his vines down onto the ground. His entire body was covered in small bumps and scratches. He slowly looked up at his master who only shook his head in disappointment.

"Sapling, you've been stuck on this level for two days now," Gingko muttered.

"I know I know…" Oak responded in between breaths. "You kicked more sand into my eyes then you usually do."

"That's not an excuse…you must always be prepared for the unexpected."

Oak just looked down at the ground and then slowly began to lift his vines back into position. It was no use arguing with his master over unfair tricks. He would always respond with the same answer "you must be prepared for the unexpected…"

Gingko just nodded his head and slowly walked back towards his pile of rocks. Oak quickly got into his battle stance and braced himself. Gingko slowly bent down and picked up a small hand fill of rocks.

"THINK FAST!" Gingko yelled before he unleashed a barrage of needles form his arms.

The needles slammed into the dirt kicking up a large cloud of thick dust. Then, without warning a barrage of stones broke through the dust cloud. His vines quickly went into action batting the stones away from their master's body. A stone would occasionally sail past his defense and slam into Oak's body, but he didn't flinch or lose focus on his task.

The barrage suddenly stopped and Gingko launched another round of needles kicking up yet another large dust cloud. The thick dust obscured Oak's view making it almost impossible to see his master.

" _Wait…_ "Oak thought himself. " _Wait for him to strike._ "

The chesnaught's large, bulky body tore through the dust cloud as he rushed towards Oak.

" _Wait…_ "

Gingko was almost on top of him and his large shadow blocked out the sun. Oak felt a little intimidated but he stood his ground and waited.

" _NOW!_ "

Oak's vines quickly lashed out and pushed against Gingko's charge. A small smirk appeared on Gingko's face before he began to add more force to his attack. Oak's vines shuddered from the sudden addition, but they continued to push against him.

"Not bad…"Gingko smirked. "But…"

He lifted his back leg and kicked a large plume of dirt right into Oak's face. Oak's eyes began to burn and his visions began to become blurry from his tears. His vines began to shake and Gingko's arm began to get closer and closer.

" _Just a little more…_ " Oak thought to himself. " _He'll stop eventually and go back to throwing rocks. That's when I will…"_

"Don't give up…"A strange voice whispered form behind. "If you give up…then you won't be able to come play with me…"

Oak's concentration broke and his vines gave in. The force form Gingko's attack sent him skidding across the field and towards the edge of the field.

"SAPLING!" Gingko screamed as he ran over to check on Oak. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?"

Oak ignored his master's call and looked over at the forest. A small, dark shadow quickly moved across the forest before vanishing into the darkness.

"SAPLING!"

Oak snapped to attention and looked up at his angry master. Gingko slowly shook his head and breathed out a large cloud of smoke.

"You got distracted again…"Gingko muttered. "Was it the dust cloud, or did my attack knock you off balance?"

"No it was something else…"

Gingko raised his eyebrows and motioned for Oak to continue.

"Something out there in the woods." Oak said as he pointed towards the grove of trees. "Something spoke to me…and I saw something move in the shadows."

Gingko took in a deep breath and exhaled a plume of smoke from his nose. He gently took the pipe out form between his lips and gently tapped the bowl of the pipe.

"It was probably just some wild Pokémon moving through the forest…or"

"Or?"

"It could have been a spirit…"

"A spirit?"

The chestnat took in a deep breath and exhaled a large plume of smoke.

"The legends say that these woods are haunted by a small group of spirits who serve the ruler of the forest. They guard against intruders and are even said to have the power to awaken the guardians if they believe you are here to disturb the scared grounds."

"Sacred Grounds?"

"A place of worship and a place for people to connect with the keeper of the forest."

"Kepper..of the forest…"

"But that's another story for another day." The chsnat said a he looked up at the sky. "Let's stop for tonight and have some dinner. After all you have a pretty big day tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?"

A small smile slowly spread itself across Gingko's face.

"Tomorrow is the day you try and take the stone form my hand…and if you do then you successfully pass my training."

"And if I fail?"

"Well…try not to fail…or I might just have to call you an utter failure."

Oak laid wide awake in his tent that night. His mind was busy thinking of ways to get around Gingko's defenses, and grab the stone. But every one of them was filled with flaws or ways Gingko could use it against him.

" _What if I grabbed his leg again?_ " Oak thought to himself. " _But this time I run around him, wrap my vines around both his legs, and then pull him down._ "

He closed his eyes and began envisioning the plan. He saw himself wrapping his vines around his master's legs; then he imagined himself running around wrapping his vines completely around Gingko's knees. Gingko only laughed at Oak's attempt and launched a barrage of needles from his arms. Preventing Oak form escaping and continuing his plan.

"Dammit…"Oak muttered.

He continued to think of different strategies until his head began to hurt. No matter what he tried he could not find any way to catch his master off guard. Allowing him to have a chance to grab the stone and pass the final exam.

"There has to be a way…if only I knew how…"Oak muttered.

" _Maybe…she can help…_ "A familiar, raspy voice said form outside of Oak's tent.

Oak quickly sat up and poked his head out of the entrance of his tent. The full moon casted its heavenly glow down upon the open field that was now littered with loose soils, rocks, and broken lumber. Oak looked over the field until his eyes fell upon a strange, ghostly shadow floating at the edge of the forest. The shadows red eyes glazed back at him with curiosity.

"Aren't you coming?" The voice said again. "Come play with us…she is waiting for you…"

Oak didn't know why but he actually wanted to step out form the safety of the camp to see who the shadowed figure was talking about. He took a small, cautious step out form his tent and slowly walked towards the red eyed shadow.

The figure tilted its head and let out a small child like laugh as Oak got closer to it.

"This way…follow and don't fall behind!" It giggled before it turned and slowly drifted deeper into the forest.

"Hey," Oak grunted as he pushed himself into the thick brush. "Who are you?"

The ghost didn't respond and responded to Oak's question with another giggle.

The forest's canopy began to grow thicker and the brush slowly began to vanish. The moon's light slowly began to vanish until Oak was almost left in complete darkness. Despite this he continued to follow the strange spirit deeper into the forest.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour of walking the ghost came to a stop and waited for Oak to catch up. Once Oak was close enough it turned and began floating down a new trial. Oak only groaned as he continued to follow his guide deeper.

The ground beneath Oak's fete began to change as he walked. The earth trail was slowly replaced by a very, old, worn, cobbled trail lined with river rock. Every now and then Oak would spot a crumbled, old, stone, pole at the edge of the path.

"Were are we going?" Oak asked.

"A place of old…a place of…familiarity…you will recognize it…"The spirit responded.

They continued walking until they finally came out into a small open field. Oak's guide lifted a small, ghostly hand and pointed out towards the center of the field. He glanced out into the field and noticed the outline of a small, building resting upon a large stone column.

"Go…" The spirit muttered. "Look inside…"

"What's inside…"

"A gift …she is your friend after all."

"You keep saying she…who is "she"?"

The spirit just shook its stump shaped head in disappointment and let out a loud sigh.

"That's a shame…she was hoping you would remember her…"

"Well, if you tell me who she is then I might remember…"Oak grumbled.

"No…you must figure that on your own…"

The spirit gently pushed Oak out into the field and motioned for him to keep walking. He slowly made his way towards the strange building and began to see it more clearly. It was a small wooden house perched on top of a large stone pillar. The stone pillar was covered in moss and cracks, but the wooden house looks new and freshly stained.

Once he had reached the small house he turned back towards his guide. The spirit just lifted its small hands and motioned for Oak to open it. Oak took in a deep breath and gently wrapped his fingers around the small wooden knobs he gently pulled open the doors and peeked inside.

The light from the moon illuminated the tiny space allowing Oak to make out a flat, rough, stone tablet lying against the back wall. He slowly reached into the shrine and wrapped his fingers around the stones edge. The tablet was rough and it almost felt warm to his touch. He gently rubbed his finger over the surface feeling the rough marks etched into the stone.

When he finally pulled out into the moon light Oak could clearly see the rough markings. They were in the shapes of strange footprints and every now and then they would glow with a soft, green light.

"What is this?" Oak asked as he began to walk back towards the edge of the clearing.

The ghost just floated up to him and gently took the stone tablet from Oak. The spirit heled the stone up to the moon light sky and made a soft prayer. The spirit then gently pressed the rim of the tablet against Oak's forehead.

"Relax…"It said in a very soothing tone. "This is her gift to you…a power that will surely help you in your quest…"

Before Oak could respond his vision was filled with images of a silhouette of a Pokémon similar to him. The images flickered past his eyes only allowing him to catch a few glimpses of what was going on. His head began to ache and he felt like he was going to throw up.

"MAKE IT STOP!" Oak yelled as he tried to push himself away from the stone.

The spirit didn't respond and continued to press the slab of stone against Oak's head. The visions continued to show the shadowy figure pulling his arm back and surrounding it in power. The arm grew in size until it resembled a weapon. His head began to ache more and he, again tried to push himself away.

The vision slowly began to fade and Oak's headache slowly began to fade. The spirit slowly lifted the now blank tablet off of his forehead.

"What…what did you do to me…"Oak said as he desperately looked over himself.

"It was gift form her and…"

"Who is she?" Oak demanded. "You keep avoiding that question…and I think it's time you answered me…tell me who is she?"

A small, cold wind blew across the field rustling the leaves in a nearby tree. The ghost just continued to look at Oak with its small red eyes. It sat there, emotionless and silent as if it was in a trance. A small smile appeared on his face and he let out a small childish laugh.

"She says…not now."

"What?"

"Oak…she told me to tell you that now is not the time for you to know who she is…she wants you to figure that out."

"But…"

"Come let me take you back to the camp…you got a busy day tomorrow."

Oak just let out a loud defeated sigh and slowly nodded his head in agreement. The spirit let out a small childish laugh before it turned and began floating back down the path. Just before he started to follow he felt a strange presence behind him. He slowly turned and found the field empty.

The presence he felt that night wasn't evil or feral because he felt that presence before. He almost knew who it was but he couldn't remember who.

Oak slowly opened his eyes and looked out of the open tent flap. The morning sun was just starting to peek its head over the horizon and the night's black blanket was starting to slowly disappear. He could also hear the sound of a crackling fire and the soft hum of Master Gingko as he prepared the final breakfast.

"Good morning Sapling!" Gingko said cheerfully as Oak slowly dragged himself out of his tent. "Sleep well?"

"No…"Oak grumbled.

"Well that sucks." Gingko said as he handed Oak his breakfast. "Now before we start I need you to help me break down the camp."

"Why?"

"One, so we don't destroy any of the equipment. Two, after we finish we can just grab our stuff and go."

Oak only nodded and quickly finished his breakfast. Once he was finished he helped Gingko fold up the tents, clean the dishes, and load everything back up into their packs.

Once they had finally packed everything away they walked out to the center of the field and walked away from one another. Gingko reached down and picked up a small, round stone.

"Unlike before, you only have one hour to take the rock form my hand. You may sue any tactic you like…but keep in mind if you attack me I will not hesitate to attack you. Are you ready?"

Oak only nodded and slowly got into his battle stance. Gingko smiled at the snivy's determination.

"Your time starts…now!"

Oak rushed forward and willed his vines to extend. When they were fully extended he slammed them against the ground forcing him into the air. Once he was over his master's head he willed his vines to wrap around one of the large spikes that protruded out from his back.

Oak's vines obeyed as they raced forward, quickly wrapping themselves around the large spike located on Gingko's shoulder. Just before Oak's feet touched the ground he willed his vines to retract back into his collar. His vines pulled his forward right into his master's back.

"What in the name of Arceus are you doing?" Gingko muttered as he slowly turned to meet Oak.

Oak tried to stop his retrieval, but it was too late. Gingko reached out and curled his fingers around the Snivy's small body. He reached over his back and pulled Oak's vines off of his back.

"It was a good try…but it was obvious what you were trying to do." Gingko chuckled as he slowly lowered his fist. "Now…how are you at flying?"

In that moment Gingko hurled Oak into the sky and towards a grove of trees. Oak's vines flapped in front of him as he tried to think of some way to land. Just as he thought of something his body slammed into the branches of a tree located at the edge of the clearing.

He tumbled and crashed through the branches before landing on a large, leafy bush. He quickly got to his feet and brushed off any leaves that had stuck to him during his fall.

"I wonder how far I went…"Oak muttered as he pushed his way through the thick brush.

He slowly pocked his head out and realized he was still close to the field. He could see Gingko sitting and smoking his pipe peacefully. The stone sat in front of him unguarded. He quickly pulled his head back in and quickly began thinking of a plan.

A border of thick bushes separated the field from the forest, and the bushes provided Oak with some great cover. He realized that he could sue the bushes to sneak up on his master and take the stone. It sounded easy and flawless, but Oak knew that Gingko would probably see him coming and grab the stone before he could even touch it.

"Well, it's worth a shot…"Oak muttered as he dashed through the brush.

Once he was far enough from his crash site, he poked his head out from the bushes to see if he was in position. Gingko and the stone was just a few feet away from him. Everything was going according to plan, and now all oak had to do was run out and snatch it.

"You know Oak," Gingko yelled before he puffed out a small cloud of smoke. "You're wasting valuable time playing in the woods."

Oak didn't say anything and watched as Gingko slowly placed his hands on the ground.

"I would advise you come out…otherwise I am going to come in there and find you…"

Oak slowly began to walk out of the brush and into the field. The sun was almost to the center of the sky meaning he was almost out of time. He looked towards Gingko who raised one of his hands and gave him a playful wave.

"So are you just going to stand there?" Gingko joked. "Or, are you going to come and try to take the stone away from me?"

Oak didn't respond and just began walking towards the chesnaught. As he approached he noticed a sly smirk slowly etch itself into Gingko's face. He stopped walking and slowly gazed around the filed. Everything seemed normal, but for some reason he had the strange feeling that he was in danger.

Oak took a cautious step forward and suddenly the ground beneath his feet erupted. A ball of large, sharp, thorns erupted from the ground just inches from Oak's foot.

"While you were off playing in the forest I was busy setting up my own little trap." Gingko boasted proudly. "Right now a whole school of those balls are under the earth waiting for the slightest vibration to set them off."

"That's not fair…"Oak grumbled.

"Hey I said I would use any means necessary to protect this rock." Gingko exhaled a large plume of smoke from his lips. "So get walking and watch were you step."

Oak took in a deep breath and began cautiously walking towards his master. Every now and then a ball of spikes would erupt form the earth just inches away from his feet. He looked up to the sky and noticed that the sin was almost in the center of the sky. He was running out of time, and he couldn't rush across the field or he would get skewered.

Gingko just yawned as he watched Oak cautiously walk through his mine field. Gingko relight his pipe and slowly looked up at the sky. A large grin slowly began to etch itself into his face as he slowly got to his feet.

"You're running out of time Oak," Gingko said as he slammed his fist into the palm of his hand. "And I'm getting bored... So I think its time to spice things up!"

Before Oak could respond to his masters words Gingko bolted towards him. He slammed a glowing fist right into Oak's chest sending him skidding across the field. Oak's vines quickly retracted and dug themselves into the ground allowing Oak to stop himself from flying back into the forest.

Oak clutched his bruised chest as he slowly lifted his head. Gingko grinned at his student as he slowly began to pull his arm back for another attack. Seeing that action, Oak quickly got himself back into his battle stance and waited for Gingko to strike.

The chesnaught launched himself forward with his glowing fist trailing behind him. Oak quickly pulled his vines out of the ground and ran forward. He slammed them against the ground propelling him into the air and over his teacher.

"You really like using that tactic don't you?" Gingko laughed before he skidded to a stop. "But you didn't go too far now did you?"

He was right Oak had only managed to create a small gap between them. If Gingko charged at him again he wouldn't have enough time to dodge it. Oak took a step forward and the ground beneath him erupted. The sharp spikes pierced through his thin, leaf, like flesh causing him to let out a loud cry of pain.

He pulled his injured foot off of the spikes and quickly examined the wound. The damage wasn't too severe, but walking on it would cause a lot of pain.

"Forgot about them didn't you?" Gingko laughed. "There are pokemon out there who can create things far more painful…"

Oak just swore under his breath and gave his master a venomous glare. Gingko just laughed at the snivy's attempt to intimidate him. He raised his hand and pointed his fingers out towards Oak.

"Now then let's make things even more interesting."

A barrage of sharp, needles suddenly erupted form his fingertips. Oak's vines quickly swung into action as they began to quickly bat away the projectiles. The needles were fast and some of them managed to pass through Oak's defenses, slicing his flesh as they sailed past.

His chest ached with pain, his foot wound burned, and the little scratches created by the needles stung. His vines were starting to feel heavy and his breathing was starting to become raspy.

" _I can't give up…_ "Oak thought to himself. " _I won't give up…I won't LOSE!"_

A new found energy slowly began to flow through Oak's body. His vines slowly began to sprout vines and his body began to glow with a strange purple glow. The fatigue and pain he had been feeling earlier slowly began to fade as his body filled with a new energy.

"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT!" Oak yelled as the new adrenaline coursed through his veins.

"NO IM JUST GETTING STARTED!"Gingko yelled as he slammed his fist into his hand igniting a bright, white glow.

Oak's vines quickly braced themselves against the ground allowing him to push himself back to create more space. The last remnants of Gingko's needle barrage sliced Oak's skin, but the pain was quickly subsided.

Once he was far enough he took in a deep breath and charged forward. His injured foot screamed at him to stop, but Oak ignored it and continued running. Gingko let out a loud gleeful laugh before he charged forward to meet Oak.

Just before the two of them clashed Oak pulled back his arm and began channeling his energy into it. His arm began to glow with a soft green light and it slowly began to grown in size. His three fingers slowly began to merge into one giving his arm the resemblance of a glowing green blade.

Oak let out a loud battle cry as he slammed his new blade against Gingko's glowing fist. The air around them hummed with energy as both of them stood their ground not giving into the others attack. Oak let out another battle cry as he began to push back against Gingko's attack.

The chesnaught was speechless at the sudden spectacle of power. He clenched his teeth in an attempt to keep his pipe in his mouth, and pushed against Oak's attack.

"OAK YOU NEED TO STOP!" Gingko yelled between his teeth. "YOUR WASTING ALL YOUR ENERGY UNSING THAT ATTACK..."

Oak ignored his master's words and continued to push against his master's attack. Gingko's glowing fist began to slowly take over as Oak slowly began to realize his master was right. His entire body was starting to shake and his blade was starting to phase out. He watched in horror as the tip of his blade began to separate and his arm was starting to return to its normal size.

Gingko's fist was slowly getting slower to him, and Oak was out of options. He didn't have enough energy to do any other of his attacks or even summon his vines. It was over, Gingko had won, and Oak had failed.

Oak looked up at his master and sighed. The last bits of energy slowly faded and his blade slowly began to vanish. Gingko's fist broke through Oak's defense and raced towards his wounded chest.

He closed his eyes and waited for the impact. He waited for a couple of moments fro he slowly opened his eyes and found his masters fist just inches away from his chest.

"What…"Oak muttered as looked up at his master.

"Great job…you passed." Gingko said before a large grin appeared on his face.

"But…but I didn't get the stone." Oak said before he looked up at the sky and saw it in the center of the sky.

"What this thing?" Gingko said as he pulled the stone out from behind his back. "You can have it."

Oak stood there in shock as Gingko gently placed the stone into Oak's sweaty, dirt covered hands.

"But I was supposed to take it from you…"

"Yeah good luck doing that." Gingko muttered. "Even some of my most skilled pupil can't take it from me."

"So…I would have failed regardless if I tried or not."

"Oak, the purpose of this test was to see if you had improved since the first time we did this exercise." He exhaled a large plume of smoke. "And I have to say you have improved significantly since our last battle."

"How so?"

"Your strength, your tactics, your determination, and most importantly of all your acceptance of defeat. Those four things were the main reason why I am deciding to let you pass."

"Acceptance of defeat?"

"Seriously?"

Oak just shrugged and Gingko let out a loud sigh.

"Kids…" He muttered. "You accepted the fact that you wouldn't be able to defeat me. You can't win every battle and it's ok to run away. You learn form your surrender and you improve yourself so that next time you're ready for anything.

Oak just nodded his head and Gingko gave him a small pat on the shoulder.

"Good, now then let's get moving shall we?"

Oak again nodded his head and followed his master back to their packs. Just as he was raising his pack onto his shoulder he heard a soft, faint whisper call form the far side of the forest. He quickly turned and saw the glowing red eyes of the stump spirit form the night before.

"You will need to come back someday Oak…"It whispered in his mind. "She will be so happy you used her gift to help you pass."

"Who is she…"Oak whispered.

The spirit only laughed at his question before it slowly vanished back into the thick forest.

" _Someday…you can meet her…and then everything will be clear…Oak the human who bares the curse…_ " It whispered before it completely vanished from sight.


	15. Chapter 13: Homecoming

**Chapter 13**

 **Homecoming**

The sun was just starting to dip below the horizon and its warm orange glow illuminated the entire hill side. Gingko, Oak, Brook, and Lizzy all stood out front of the small house that lead into the facility. Gingko exhaled a large plume of smoke from his nostrils as he gazed down at his former student.

"Oak," Gingko began. "Know that you must continue to grow with each battle. Always remember what you learned from my time with you."

Oak just nodded his head and smiled at the old chestnaught. Gingko returned the snivy's smile igniting a sense of pride within Oak. Every day for the past two weeks was filled with grueling task and tough training exercises. Every night before he went to bed he would wonder if he should give up and hopefully find another way to learn how to control his powers. Every morning he would push himself out of bed, and would take on whatever Gingko had for him that day.

"Thank you," Oak bowed his head. "Master Gingko."

The old chestnat just puffed out a large plume of smoke. He slowly turned and began walking back into the facility. Lizzy just stood there and shook her head in disapproval.

"That's his way of saying good luck." She muttered. "If you ever need any anymore training you are free to come back at any time. You won't need to take the whole initiation test again. "

"I will, who knows Gingko might have something else to teach me."

"Who knows," The zoroark said before she slowly turned and began walking back into the hut. "Good bye and good luck Oak."

Oak just nodded his head and watched as the zoroark slowly closed the door behind her. Brook and Oak turned away from the facility and began making their way down the hill.

"Hey Brook?" Oak asked. "Do you know where Fiona is?"

"Fiona finished her training a day before you did." Brook said. "She asked if she could go back early, and get things ready for your return to guild life."

"So when we get back are we going to have some time to recuperate, or are we going right back to work?"

"I'm throwing you two back into the fire!" The lampent laughed. "You only did one mission. So there really is no point to give you two a day off."

"Right…"

"Besides, I thought you were ready to get back to guild work after the two weeks you had."

"I am!"

"Well let's hope you keep that enthusiasm."

The lampent chuckled at his remark and continued floating ahead, with Oak close behind. The sun slowly began to sink lower and lower into the horizon and their shadows slowly began to sink back into their feet.

The sun had finally set by the time the two of them walked through the stone archway, and onto the weathered, cobbled pathway. Unlike the night they departed the streets were still, somewhat, alive with activity. Iron lanterns swung gently above them as they casted their warm glow down upon the cobbled streets.

"Stay close." Brook mumbled as he proceeded to push his way through the crowd.

"Right!" Oak yelled as he tried to stay close.

Brook and Oak continued to weave their way through the crowd in hopes to reach the main road that would take them to the guild. The path they had been following suddenly merged into the main road, filtering the two of them into a much larger crowd. The pokemon surrounding Oak had doubled, and his ears were now filled with hundreds of different sounds.

Oak was pushed and shoved as he desperately tried to keep up with Brook. He watched as the lament gracefully weaved his way through the massive herd of pokemon, before vanishing form view. Oak swore under his breath and continued pushing his way through.

"Brook!" Oak yelled.

Eventually he began to see his familiar shape and continued to surge ahead. The crowd slowly began to thin out, and Oak could almost see Brook. He pushed past the few remaining shoppers and popped out into a small pocket park. He desperately began looking around for his teacher, until his eyes fell upon a cast iron lamp. Oak had mistaken the lantern for his teacher.

"Dang it…"Oak muttered as he continued to look around. "How am I ever going to find him…?"

"Find who?" A familiar voice asked.

Oak quickly turned to find a grinning makuhita. Makit quickly wrapped his arms around the snivy and pulled him into a bear hug.

"Oak, how have you been?" Makit squealed happily.

"Good," Oak whimpered. "Cant…BREATH, CRUSHING ME!"

"What…Oh, sorry about that." Makit slowly released Oak form his hug and allowed him to refill his crushed lungs.

Once he had refilled his lungs, Oak turned towards Makit and gave him a friendly smile.

"Makit…how have you been?" Oak asked.

"I've been doing great!" He exclaimed. "I am actually training with someone."

"Really?"

The makuhita smiled and gently rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, but I can't tell you. Otherwise, someone might hear his name and start demanding that he train them."

"Oh come on Makit you can tell me!" Oak joked.

"Sorry I made a promise, and I have no intention of breaking it." Makit said.

Oak just smiled and Makit smiled back at him. Oak was glad he had the chance to run into Makit. He had actually wondered what the makuhita had been up to since they arrived on the central continent.

"So where is Fiona?" Makit asked.

"Uh, she's back at the guild."

"That's a shame I really wanted too…"

"THERE YOU ARE!"

Oak and Makit quickly turned and found a very angry Fiona glaring at them. She looked well rested and she had a large red ribbon tied around one of her ears. She puffed out her chest and quickly marched over towards Oak.

"Brook said he lost you out here." She said. "So I came with him to help look for you."

"I'm not lost…"Oak muttered.

Fiona just puffed out her cheeks and grumbled something under her breath. Makit only laughed at what he saw and gently patted Fiona on the back.

"It's good to see you guys again!" He exclaimed. "So how's guild life?"

"Well…"

"Do you guys have your own room?"

"Well yes…"

"How many missions have you guys gone on? OH, let me guess you guys just back from fighting a bunch of bandits, right?"

"Makit stop," Fiona said. "You're making Oak nervous."

The makuhita sheepishly scratched the back of his head and let out a small, hearty laugh.

"Sorry about that Oak. I didn't mean to put you on the spot."

"It's fine…" Oak said giving the makuhita a small smile.

"Well, I should get going," Makit said. "Keep me updated on your adventures, and if you need anything sailing related, you know who to call."

"We will, Makit!" Fiona said.

The makuhita puffed out his chest and walked past his friends. Oak and Fiona watched him until he completely vanished into the crowds of pokemon.

"I'm just happy to see that you're alright, and not being mugged." She said.

"Mugged?" Oak asked.

"You know jumped, robbed," She looked at Oak, and tried to see some glimmer of understanding. "Never mind…"

"But…"

"I said never mind." Fiona groaned. "Why do you always want to know everything?"

"Because I don't remember half of things I use to know…or I think I do…"

"Let's just go…"Fiona moaned as she moved past Oak.

The two of them slowly made their way through the crowds and towards the edge of town.

After ten minutes of walking Fiona and Oka finally reached the north gate, and continued to follow the trail up towards the guild. The tree loomed before them, and its shadows slowly began to shift in the wind. The windows carved into the trees trunk looked like giant fire flies resting against the trees rough trunk. Up in the branches Oak could faintly see the lights of the teams sleeping quarters. They almost looked like stars slowly shimmering into existence and then disappearing back into the void.

"The guild looks amazing at night." Oak said softly.

"Sure does," Fiona added. "It reminds of the nights my father would take me outside and watch ships, gently sailing through the dark waves. The lights of the decks would make me think they were carrying stars. "

"Your home, was it Lapris Island?"

"No…"Fiona said softly. "My home, was on an island just a few miles north of Lapris Island.

"Was?"

Fiona stopped walking and was silent for a few moments. A cold wind gently rolled across the field, and gently rubbed itself against Oak's flesh. He noticed Fiona's body was shaking, and her breathing had become shallow.

"If you don't want to talk about it, then you don't have to." Oak said.

Fiona just took in a deep breath and continued walking. Eventually they reached the base of the three, and the familiar outline of the large oak doors that were carved into its base. As they got closer Oak began to notice a large, metal, lock holding the pair of large doors closed.

"I guess were sleeping outside." Oak said.

"No," Fiona said. "There's a back entrance just for teams. I used it when I got back."

Fiona turned and began walking towards the right side of the tree. Oak quickly picked up his feet and followed his friend around the tree. Eventually they came to the back side of the tree. A large set of metal bars covered a large cavity what was carved into the trees base. Fiona gently pressed her face in between the bars and cleared her throat.

"Hello, gate keeper?"

Silence, and the sound of scuffling echoed through the cavity. A small, fluffy, yellow, pokemon popped out from a hole in the far back wall. It blinked its four, blue eyes as it quickly scurried over to the gate.

"Badge please." It squeaked.

Fiona gently kicked Oak and motioned for him to show the tiny pokemon his badge. Oak opened the small bag that was secured onto his back, and lifted the badge out. The tiny pokemon looked at the badge and gently nodded his head.

"Team name?"

"Uh, New Leaf."

"AH, we have been expecting you two. Please, wait for just a moment."

The little yellow pokemon quickly scurried back towards the back wall, and scaled it back up towards the hole. A few moments passed before the metal bars slowly began to rise, and a large, round piece of wood descended from the ceiling. Four large, long pieces of rope were secure to the sides to prevent the lift from tipping over.

Without any hesitation, Fiona pushed past Oak and walked onto the lift. Oak on the other hand looked down at the lift and then looked back up at Fiona.

"Oak, you need to get on it." Fiona said. "This is the only way into the base."

"Can't we just have Luna teleport us up like last time?"

"No, we need to get use to using this."

"But…"

"Are you scared of heights, or are you just nervous about this thing braking?"

"It's a combination of both…"Oak mumbled a little ashamed of his fears.

"It's ok to be scared, look I'm right here with you so you don't have to worry about falling off.?"

Oak just nodded his head, and took in a deep breath. He carefully stepped onto the platform and waited for it to move. The lift shuddered beneath their feet, and he instinctively grabbed onto Fiona's tail. The fennekin grunted in disapproval, but she quickly swallowed her annoyance and smiled at the snivy

The lift slowly began to rise up towards a dimly lit hole above. Familiar voices echoed off of the tubes walls, and as they got closer a familiar shadow came into view. The small platform shuddered as it breached over the lip of the hole, revealing a dimly lit room roughly the same size as the guild masters chamber. A large wooden crank sat in the center of the room, and its operator slowly stepped out from behind it.

"About time you two showed up?" Reggie said lazily.

"Reggie, what are you doing here?" Fiona asked. "Last time I used it, Greg was manning the crank?"

The lombree just shook his head and gently rubbed the bridge between his eyes.

"Greg told me he had some calculations he had to do for a mission. No, surprise he roped me into taking his shift, so he could go and crunch numbers."

"That sucks." Oak said.

"Eh," The lombree shrugged. "I don't have to do gate duty for the next two weeks…so it's a win in my book."

"Nice," Fiona said as she stepped off the lift. "So did anything interesting happen while we were gone.

Reggie rubbed the bottom of his chin and shook his head.

"Nope, just your standard guild life." He said. "Going out on missions, fighting bad guys, giving staryus oran berries which they give you back after you finish."

"Really?"

"And if you're Kid you just stuff the Oran berry right into the staryu's gem…."Reggie snickered at the memory and continued walking. "Anyway once we get back to the others, they're going to want to hear about your time away."

Oak and Fiona stepped off of the platform and followed Reggie up the numerous flights of stairs. Eventually the familiar site of their branch's door came into view. Through the doorway Oak could see the four sleeping quarters, each sitting peacefully on its own large branch. Just seeing them made him feel exhausted, after sleeping on the hard ground for a week it would be nice to flop down on his familiar pile of hay.

Oak took a step out of the doorway and onto the shaky, old, wooden bridge. He quickly pulled his foot back, and scuttled back into the safety of the tree trunk. Reggie just laughed and gently patted Oak on the head before he began making the journey across. Fiona walked up beside Oak and motioned for him to grab onto her tail.

Once he had secured his fingers around her tail, they slowly made their way across the wobbly bridge. As they got closer to the platform that connected all the teams sleeping quarters together, Oak could make out the familiar shapes of his fellow guild mates. They had all come out to welcome them home.

" _Home…_ "Oak thought to himself. " _It's good to be….home._ "

The members of branch five all sat around a small fire pit, listening to Oak and Fiona's time at the training center. Fiona told them about how her instructor forced her to eat raw fire, and how she was required to sit in a steam room for five hours.

"All of this, in an attempt to increase the heat of my fire attacks." Fiona groaned. "The guy was a little nuts…"

"It sounds like it!' Digby said. "What does fire taste like?"

"I think it would taste like rocks…"Reggie said as a he lazily scratched the bottom of his chin.

"No, it would probably taste like wood or ash," Isaac said as he glanced down at his glowing fingers. "Since you need wood or coal to burn the fire."

"But coal is a rock…"Greg burbled form within his gel.

Isaac was about to respond but Albert raised his hand, and motioned for elgym to stay quiet.

"I BET I COULD EAT FIRE!" Tyler roared. "Nothing can beat my iron stomach!"

"You don't even eat your brussel sprouts." Justin grumbled. "So what makes you think you can eat fire?"

"One, brussel sprouts are not good for a sawks digestion," Tyler said. "Second, raw power would burn the fire making it a part of my amazing being!"

"Go ahead and try," Kid grumbled. "Will save us some headaches."

"Maybe later," Tyler said.

"Are we done talking yet? Fiona asked. "Oak still hasn't talked about his time."

The group shifted their eyes over to Oak and waited patiently for him speak. Oak gently tugged at the edge of his collar and nodded his head. He slowly began to tell them about his time with master Gingko, and all the different types of training the old chestnaught had put him through. He told them about his final test, and how he had to push himself just too even stand up to the chestnaughts raw power.

After he had finished the group just nodded their heads and began mumbling to themselves.

"So…Gingko…"Kid said. "I heard his training is tough, but I didn't imagine it to be that way…"

The tyrogue gently placed his hands behind his head and sighed.

"From the sound of things you and Fiona have both grown a lot in the past two weeks. You might even get bumped up higher on the scale."

"Scale?" Fiona and Oka asked in unison.

"The guild has what's known as the scale," Albert began. "Every team is ranked based on their performance and by their power in the field. The higher you are on the scale, the more likely you are to be sent higher level missions and personal request."

"That actually sounds kind of cool." Oak mumbled. "How do we get on it?"

"Well," Greg burbled. "You already completed a mission so you're technically on the list already."

"And if you want to advance," Reggie added. "You have to do one of two things."

Fiona and Oka nodded their heads.

"Successfully complete missions, the difficulty of the mission will give you a certain amount of points. Or…"

Kid put his hand out stopping Reggie mid-sentence.

"Or," Kid began. "You battle the team that's standing in your way!"

"Wait we have to fight, just to move up some stupid list?" Oak said.

"It's quicker and more efficient," Reggie said. "Plus the higher you are on the list the higher chance you have at getting better missions. I mean out team is ranked number 2…"

"My team is ranked fifth." Albert said calmly.

"WE'RE NUMBER 1!" Tyler shouted.

"No, where almost dead last…" Justin grumbled. "Oak and Fiona and probably above us at this point, thanks to their training and the level of the mission."

Tyler's entire body shuddered when he heard that. He slowly shifted his eyes over to Justin, and then looked over at Oak. In that moment Oak could see a small fire burning deep within the sawks eyes.

"Come Justin, let us get ready for tomorrow!" Tyler said as he lowered his arms

"Thought you'd never say that." The throh grumbled as he followed his brother up to their tree house.

"I guess we should go to bed too," Greg said. "What do you guys think…?"

Albert had already nodded off to sleep and Isaac had vanished. The solosis just shook his gel covered head and slowly began to make his way back to his team's tree house.

Once he had entered his team's tree house, Reggie lifted himself off the ground and looked over at Kid. The tyrogue just glared at him before he turned and motioned for his team to follow.

"Well…then," Fiona mumbled. "I guess it's time for lights out Oak."

"Finally…"Oak grumbled. "I've been waiting for you to say that."

"Yeah, after hearing what you had to go through you have to be pretty beat."

The snivy didn't reply and continued walking towards their team's tree house. Once there he pushed open the door, wished Fiona a good night rest, entered his room, and collapsed onto his soft pile of hay.

The familiar scent of the dusty hay, helped him relax. His body began to grow limp as he quickly began to fall into a deep sleep.

"It's good to be home." Oak said happily as he slowly fell into unconsciousness.

The dark, fog filled streets of Relicanth bay were cold and vacant that evening. A quarter moon hung in the center of the sky, casting its dim light down upon the darkened street.

A single pokemon gently glided his way through the vacant streets, and towards a narrow alley way. His wings hummed silently as he hovered at the mouth of the alley. He quickly looked to his sides to make sure he was alone, and then gently hummed down the tight brick corridor.

"Anyone here…"He quietly hissed.

A pair of red glowing eyes suddenly appeared in front of him. The pokemon felt something sharp gently press itself against his neck.

"Your late…"The owner of the eyes said in a smooth female voice.

"I know…I …I had to grab some things…"The pokemon said.

"Was it more important than this meeting?"

"Well uh…"

The pokemon could feel the sharp claw slowly dig into his neck.

"No…it was just an errand…"

The female pokemon was silent for a few moments as she considered his answer.

"Very well, but if this happens again …well you already know what will happen."

The pokemon gently nodded his head, and the pressure on the claw slowly began to lessen.

"So uh…why are we having this meeting again?"

"The plans have changed since our last meeting," She whispered. "My king is growing impatient, and he's ordered me to tell you that things have changed."

"Hey not my fault the kid left town!" The pokemon hissed.

The claw slowly began to dig into his flesh again, and a small tinge of pain ran through his body.

"Now, your assignment is simple" The female pokemon purred. "You are to get into the guild and bring us the target."

"Right, fly in, kidnap the kid, and bring him to you guys."

"And you will do it in exactly four days."

"Four days?"

"When the new moon rises, and makes you blend into the shadows."

"Right, I got ya sweet heart. I can do it then and…"

The claw quickly dug itself into his neck, and he noticed small drips of blood fall onto the cobbled stones.

"Don't you ever call me that!" The female hissed. "Or swear to Arceus I will decapitate you!"

"Right, right, I got it no nicknames."

"Once you have the target you are to meet us at the docks."

"Right…"

"And don't think you can run…we will be watching your progress."

"Right…I got it…"

The claw was quickly pulled away from his neck, and the pokemon quickly reached up to access the damage done to it. He looked up to see if his client was still there, but she had vanished. Leaving him all alone in the fog filled alley way.

He muttered a curse under his breath as he slowly began to hover back down the alley way.

"Four days…"He grumbled. "and then I get to be stinking rich…"


End file.
